Donation made to Hemophilia Society

A donation of a blood clotting protein has been delivered to the Belize Hemophilia Society as a gift from Britain’s Royal Engineers and Peter Dunham of Cleveland State University. The 100 vials of the factor were brought to Belize by the 53 Field Squadron. On Tuesday Major Mark Sullivan took the 100 vials of factor to Big Falls, Toledo.

Major Mark Sullivan, Royal Engineers

“Well like I said, this is really my first time of being involved this year, but my friend Mark Bennett–Major Mark Bennett–tied in with Peter Dunham last year and he put together the agreement and the partnership to supply the original thirty vials.”

Jacqueline Woods

How will they be transported to Big Falls and because it’s such a precious cargo, what kind of security measures you all had to do?

Major Mark Sullivan

“We’ve taken the helicopter route, because there is two reasons for that: the first one you said, is that it is fragile and secondly it needs to be controlled in a controlled temperature below five degrees Celsius. So we’ve packed it with ice today and because of it’s the quickest way of getting it down to Big Falls, we are taking it down that way.”

Andre Sosa, Orthopedic Surgeon

“The factor is a lifesaver. We have to try to understand the concept that lies behind this disease. There are natural factors in the body, which have a domino effect, a cascade effect and when there is the absence of a factor or more than one factor, that cascade is no longer possible. So in essential, the person isn’t able to clot even the most simple minor injury, a little cut can become a life-threatening event. And this is where the factor comes in, it provides that domino which helps the whole effect to take place.”

This is the second donation of factor from the Royal Engineers and Peter Dunham, last year they donated 30 vials. This year’s gift is valued at $45,000. The factor is manufactured by Bio Products in the U.K. There are five or six confirmed hemophiliacs in Belize but several more are being tested for the condition. The squadron from the Royal Engineers is refurbishing a Belize City primary school and doing construction work at Price Barracks and at La Sierra Archaeological Site in Toledo.