The Turks and Caicos Blood Bank is desperately in need of O positive blood.
Radio Turks and Caicos was first informed recently through a text message dispensed by the Department of Health on Tuesday (June 20)
In a recent interview with Mr Ricardo Missick, medical technologist for the public health lab, he said that although the lab was in urgent need of these blood types, all blood types were welcomed to visit the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre in Providenciales, or the Cockburn Medical Centre in Grand Turk to donate blood.
He said: “Blood stocks are down and we need to get blood stocks up.
“We usually try to keep at least 15 units of blood for Providenciales and at least five units or more for Grand Turk.”
Although it is quite evident that the TCI population is increasing on an annual basis, Missick explained that only a small percentage of the people’s blood is able to be used, for a number of reasons.
He encouraged everyone who is 17 or older and in good health, to go down to the hospital from Monday to Friday between the hours of 8am and 4.30pm and state that they are interested in donating blood.
If it is a large group that is interested in donating blood, the blood bank will facilitate those individuals on a weekend.
The blood bank and the blood supplying system have been divided into two major activity centres; one is the inventory and the supply chain side, which falls under the administrative control of the Ministry of Health.
The Ministry of Health is responsible for contacting donors and bringing them in to donate blood.
Then, there is the transfusion service which is under the laboratory at InterHealth Canada.
The donors go and they donate a unit of blood which receives initial testing then it goes to the main hospital lab where the testing is repeated and if the physician deems that the patient needs a blood transfusion, then they complete the testing and do the transfusion at the laboratory.
