Blood needed for two people!

[NewsLady 153]

We have two people who need blood before they can have surgery this week! 

Cheryl Crabbe, needs 3 units of B+.  Irma, of Keep it Simple Panama will meet you at the hospital & guide you through the process.  If you can donate Tuesday morning, please call me.  The age limit has been waived for Cheryl.  

Keith Darby needs a unit of either A+ or AB positive blood.  If you can donate Tuesday, please call.  He has a friend who will meet you & help you through the process at Regional Hospital.  They are strict with the rules.  

For blood donation criteria in Panama, please go to the boquetehealth.org site, click “what we do” then click “blood donation”.  

If you can donate for either person, please call Charlotte Lintz, 6693-5095.  

Charlotte Lintz
Boquete Health & Hospice Foundation.  
6693-5005

[Uncle Doug 178]

I am AB+, so I called Charlotte this morning to see if I could donate for Keith. She wasn't kidding about Regional being strict with the rules for blood donors. I was in the US within the past six months which disqualifies me. No exceptions. The laboratory will check.

Also, she mentioned that the maximum age for women donors has been lowered to age 60. It's still age 65 for men.

This is ridiculous. 

[Palo Alto Jo 63]

Sounds like each facility makes its own rules.  Perhaps that's another reason to start a blood bank here in Boquete or Volcan.   Id hate to be down in David waiting for the "proper donor" when I could have already received the blood in the ambulance on my way.   In this case, these people are waiting for surgeries, but for GI bleeders or car accidents, we could start transfusing in the ambulance and the hospital couldn't deny the transfusion.  

[Pat 61]

9 minutes ago, Uncle Doug said:

I am AB+, so I called Charlotte this morning to see if I could donate for Keith. She wasn't kidding about Regional being strict with the rules for blood donors. I was in the US within the past six months which disqualifies me. No exceptions. The laboratory will check.

Also, she mentioned that the maximum age for women donors has been lowered to age 60. It's still age 65 for men.

This is ridiculous. 

This is not only ridiculous but non-thinking and silly.

Not interested in solving this problem?  You bet they don’t care and don’t want to change their habits or improve their non-working system.

[Uncle Doug 178]

It's nonsensical and it costs lives. What possible reason can be offered for disqualifying someone from donating blood simply because of a trip to Houston months ago? That's a bigger risk than visiting the Darien??  Really?