Blood bank girds for holiday weekend
Regular viewers of this newscast need no reminder that as much as we may love our wonderful country, sometime things go radically wrong. And whether that wrong is a driveby shooting, a high-speed traffic accident or a natural disaster like hurricane or fire, chances are that the victim will need to be given blood. Today, on the verge of a very long weekend Ann-Marie Williams looked at the situation and found that when trouble does strike, the only guarantee that blood will be there is our own sense of responsibility.
Ann-Marie Williams, Reporting
The Easter holidays are here and while many Belizeans will escape the hustle and bustle of the work place, few will be thinking of an accident in the midst of merrymaking and fun.
One woman who is not only thinking about an accident, but whose entire work life revolves around preparing for one is phlebotomist Marjorie Mariano. He job is to recruit blood donors and make sure the blood bank remains full for emergencies.
Marjorie Mariano, Phlebotomist
“We’re calling blood donors from week before last, Monday. I don’t know what is the problem, but they’re not responding so well. And with long holidays like this, it will be from Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter Sunday, Monday.”
And since one never knows, it is crucial to prepare. That preparation begins with you…Become a voluntary blood donor.
Citizen #1
“I’ve never volunteered, only for my family. I’ve never really given anybody else.”
Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Francis Smith says every healthy Belizean should give blood.
Dr. Francis Smith, Orthopedic Surgeon
“You might get three or four road traffic accidents over that weekend. Three or four multiple trauma victims, and those are the ones who bleed the most, gunshot wounds, so it varies. On an average you would see perhaps ten to fifteen combinations of multiple trauma victims, gunshot wounds and stabs per month. Some months are high; some months are low. The Easter holidays are one of the highs when we really brace ourselves for the drunk driving and the violence.”
Joy Charley supervises the blood bank. Once Mariano has collected the blood from the donor, it is her job to recheck the blood group and do an antibody screening. The sample is then sent to serology where it is tested for HIV, Hepatitis B and Syphilis. A Hepatitis C test is soon to begin.
Sixty-five percent of our population belongs to the O+ group. Ten percent is O-, which is the universal donor; and this type could be given to anyone. However, O- can only receive blood from an O- person. This is the blood type which is the hardest to come by.
Joy Charley, Supervisor, Blood Bank
“We check that they have enough, that the groups would correspond because we don’t want to collect group that at the moment we cannot really use. Like the AB group, we seldom collect that because we only have a small percentage, about point one or point two percent of the population that’s AB. So we wouldn’t collect that type. But other than that, Belizean people on whole, they are a bit scared of giving blood. They thing something is wrong. Our units, the needles are sterile, everything is sterile, so there’s no chances of them getting anything from giving blood. We that collect the blood more than likely would get something from them. Belizeans have to realise that they might be the one out there that might need and when they need we have to have it collected, properly screened, and waiting there to be used. At least one bag a year and we would have more than enough.”
And it cannot wait there for long as the shelf life of blood is only thirty-five days.
Joy Charley
“You could give blood four times a year, every three months. At least twice a year come in and give some. If everybody would think “I’m responsible to give at least one bag a year”, we would have more than enough.”
And a pint or bag of blood is more than enough to give, once you’re eighteen years old and weigh over one hundred and ten pounds.
Marjorie Mariano
“We have a questionnaire for them that they have to pass through. We want honest answers and after passing that, we make sure they have had a good meal. The requirement for female is that she must have twelve point five for her HB minimum, and for the men thirteen point five. The body needs eight to ten pints of blood to do its daily work and when we take, it’s because the daily need is there plus a surplus.”
Colman Domingo has a quiet mind. He’s a regular blood donor.
Colman Domingo, Blood Donor
“I have kids and in the event that they might need blood or someone in the family need blood, they could always step up and get it by using my name.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“You think it’s important?”
Colman Domingo
“Yeah, healthy-wise too because it’s a free way to get an AIDS test too. If you have AIDS they won’t want to use your blood and they’ll tell you.”
Dr. Francis Smith
“Donating blood is a human thing, It’s more of a human solidarity. You can’t buy blood. You can’t make it. Well, you can buy it, but that’s discouraged. It’s something that has to be donated. So whereas we have a policy of asking relatives to donate blood for elective surgeries, for emergencies, you can’t do that.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“Do you feel that it’s a good thing?”
Citizen #2
“Oh definitely! Just make sure that the person is healthy and has no kind of disease, especially now with AIDS.”
Dr. Francis Smith
“I am a blood donor. I have patients and their relatives don’t, they’re not in a position to donate blood and I love doing surgery, so sometimes I go over and donate for them myself.”
Marjorie Mariano
“Whether you give blood or not, your lose you blood cells. Your blood cells last about for a hundred and ten days. And whether you give blood practically or not, your body destroys the blood cells. So the blood that we have now is not the cells we were born with, they’re rejuvenated every so often. So it’s better for us to give blood for us that we could have our new cells and to carry on a healthy lifestyle.”
Ann-Marie Williams for News 5.
To become a blood donor just visit the third floor of the government lab on Princess Margaret Drive near the K.H.M.H. If you need more information, call the blood donor service at 45010.
