Blood donated locally has to be tested in PR- BVIHSA
There is currently not a full-fledged blood bank at the territory’s main hospital to meet the needs of its patients, including accident victims, cancer patients or individuals who are seriously ill and need blood transfusions.
Ms Devye Nicholson, Laboratory Manager at the BVI Health Services Authority (BVIHSA), speaking as a guest speaker at the Club’s luncheon meeting on September 15, 2022, said blood donated to Dr D. Orlando Smith Hospital must be sent to Puerto Rico for testing and preparation before it can be administered to patients.
Blood from PR costs $1,800- Nicholson
She said most often when blood is needed, it has to be ordered from Puerto Rico at a cost of $1,800 per unit. Once ordered it takes an average of 1-2 weeks to receive the blood.
Ms Nicholson stated that having a larger blood storage unit and upgraded lab equipment will allow the hospital to test blood locally and will mean a readily available blood supply to hand. In addition, it will significantly shorten the turnaround time to supply blood to needy patients and lengthen the blood’s storage before expiration.
Meanwhile, the Rotary Club of Tortola is currently raising money to upgrade the blood storage facility at the Dr D. Orlando Smith Hospital Laboratory.
One of the club’s first ventures was a raffle that raised $23,000.
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25 Responses to “Blood donated locally has to be tested in PR- BVIHSA”
Disgusting.
Bull sh**
We spend over a billion dollars in 4 years on mostly b*llsh**that is not really needed
This must be a sick @*&%$ joke! The former Minister bragged about spending $12mil on COVID b*llsh** and look at what we are reading here. NO words!
TO DO THESE ESSENTIAL AND LIFE SAVING
JOBS FOR OURSELVES ( WEED FARMING ISN'T GOING TO DO THAT ????
The local laboratory is fully equipped to process all donor screening tests.
Blood is not sent to PR for screening.
Blood orders to American RC are normally processed same or next business day.
A big head for nothing all he did was got a kick out of scaring people. Look at his results now.
That said, the article is silent about the volume of transfused blood that is used at the hospital. Quite possibly, it's cheaper to buy 10-20 units a year than it is to buy the equipment, set up a lab, and hire trained people to run it and maintain it. Others have pointed out that testing services could be available in the US VIs, which would allow much more expedient testing.