Musings on health - blood

We are very much the same here.  There is no real blood bank that actually has blood.  When you need surgery you go looking for blood in advance or save your own.  Accident - we look for donors and it is done in the name of the patient.

In addition to donating whole blood, I also donate platelets (this is hla matched, and can get called in by the Blood Service as needed ) and so have more than a passing interest. 

The following is a FAQ which I found  on Tripadvisor's site which refers to a risk of malaria:   http://www.tripadvisor.com/FAQ_Answers- … ormed.html

Yes it can be a bit of a cluster fuk when blood is needed urgently.  Here on the north coast on the www.dr1.com board (north coast forum) we maintain a blood donor list and it is certainly been handy on a time or two.

As to Malaria  very rare to find here.  If not on the border of Haiti or in the back jungles you never see it.  No one who lives takes meds for prevention.

Bob K

At the blood bank donors are asked questions about residency in the Caribbean ( http://bloodcenter.stanford.edu/donate/ … oCaribbean ).   The   Canadian blood bank has a new twist on inherited conditions. I donated platelets yesterday and they asked if a donor's mother or grandmother (actually mother's mother) was born in Central America (Caribbean) or South America.  The thinking appears to be that Chagas(*) can be inherited



(*)What is Chagas disease?


About 100,000 people in the United States are thought to be infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas' disease. Up to 20 million people are believed to be infected in Mexico, Central and South America. Only about one percent of those infected show immediate symptoms, which can include fever, malaise, and swelling. Most appear to recover, although a few infants and people with suppressed immune systems suffer fatal brain swelling. About 30 percent of all those infected develop a dormant form that festers in the nerve cells of the heart and intestines for 10 to 30 years before progressing to severe disease...
http://www.redcrossblood.org/donating-b … ation-faqs

Okay I will ask what that has to do with the DR?????

planner wrote:

Okay I will ask what that has to do with the DR?????

It applies to the Caribbean.  I had to think about being an Expat: both my periods of residence outside of Canada (Jamaica/UK), and review that one of my grandmother's was born in Jamaica.

You refer to the disease not the Canadian blood bank?

The question about chagas was the first of it's type on the Canadian blood bank's questionnaire required of all donations.   They asked about a donor's mother and grandmother.  The other questions on the questionnaire relate to the actions and places lived by the donor.

All very interesting acadien175, but since DR really does not have an organized blood banking system is there really some message in all of this?

As a fellow Canadian now living abroad for over 13 years now, I can tell you that you should not expect infrastructure we're used to in any Central American, South American and Caribbean countries.

The first time I gave blood was in Jamaica, when ~40 years ago a donor could have a cold Red Stripe beer after donating.   If you were sick and needed blood, family and friends would have to recruit donors.   I knew how the informal system worked.     The DR will be similar, however I know some snowbirds who will live 6 months close to the beach during winter then return for 6 months of summer,  we do not plan on doing that, but suspect that it may not be possible to donate when returning from the DR for visits.   

The infrastructure is perhaps a different topic.   The differences may not be as black and white;   I know parts of rural Canada which are not the same as the cities and even some cities, well... http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/e … waterways/

I think we have beat this to death now.  Clearly the "blood donation" system here is almost non existent.  You will need to take care of yourself.