A Guilderland man with cancer also faced a serious tick-borne disease. He believes he got it from a blood transfusion. Donated blood is not screened for anaplasmosis; it should be.

Walter Cieszynski’s wife and son believe he acquired a tick-borne disease from a blood transfusion, although the Red Cross says he did not. There is no requirement to screen blood donors for the potentially fatal disease.

Anaplasmosis, the second-most common tick-borne illness in New York State, behind Lyme, infects about 500 New Yorkers annually, according the New York State Department of Health.