Did Selena Quintanilla Perez Have a Blood Transfusion?

Getty Fans of Selena and Latin music wait at the "Selena Vive" tribute concert, April 7, 2005 while holding a poster of her.

After Selena Quintanilla Perez died just as her career was taking off, there was a lot of speculation about exactly what happened. One of the questions frequently asked — and which later became the source of many rumors — was whether or not she had a blood transfusion. A false rumor circulated that she didn’t get one because her parents were Jehova’s Witnesses and if she had, she might have lived. But court testimony showed that this rumor was not true. A blood transfusion actually was attempted before she died. Here’s what you need to know.

She Did Receive Blood Transfusions in an Attempt to Save Her Life

Dr. Louis Elkins, a cardiac surgeon, tried to save Selena’s life on the day she arrived at the Memorial Medical Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, AP reported. But he said in court testimony that she already didn’t have any blood flow to her brain and she was clinically brain dead.

Elkins testified that doctors attempted blood transfusions, but a hollow point bullet left massive damage to her right shoulder, veins, a major artery, and her lung. When he was able to reach her, another doctor was already physically massaging her heart, trying to save her. He testified that “most of the blood she had in her body, she had lost.” When he arrived, her heart was “blue and empty of blood.”

Her Father Was Upset That She Had Received Blood Transfusions

After Selena was shot, early reports indicated that Selena’s father, Abraham Quintanilla, Jr., was upset that she got blood transfusions because he’s a Jehova’s Witness, AP reported. So contrary to some later rumors, he didn’t actually stop her from getting a transfusion. The  Washington Post also confirmed that she had received blood transfusions.

Richard Fredrickson, a paramedic who responded to the scene, testified that the paramedics placed an IV in her veins, but her veins had collapsed. They also tried to put an IV in her carotid artery, but that was also collapsed.

The Houston Chronicle reported in 1995 that Quintanilla, Jr. had not wanted his daughter to get a transfusion, but it had already been done. Elkins said Selena was unconscious and couldn’t tell him to discontinue the treatment or the transfusions.

Selena was deeply mourned. Before her funeral, more than 50,000 people came to pay their respects. In fact, her casket was opened to prove she was not secretly still alive, as some rumors had insisted, Biography reported.

Two years after her death, a statue was erected in Selena’s honor in Corpus Christi, Texas. The Selena Memorial is called Mirador De La Flor and it was unveiled in 1997 in Selena’s honor. It’s a life-sized bronze statue created by H.W. Buddy Tatus of Corpus Christi. The memorial is just a few miles from where Selena is buried at Seaside Memorial Park.

Yolanda Saldivar was convicted of Selena’s murder and is now serving a life sentence in prison. She is eligible for parole in 2025.

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