Paid for the blood, as I said. the bastards were bodacious enough to identify the price per liter/pint.
- Thread starter AlterEgo
- Start date
Blood donations urgently needed in DR
Paid for the blood, as I said. the bastards were bodacious enough to identify the price per liter/pint.
Well I take your word for it , I have not encountered it .I have encountered ,when with some friends or employees, the need to pay for at least 50% of the operation up front but never specifically just for blood ..maybe that was included in the operation cost ..I have never heard of the cost of blood being specifically isolated and asked for separately . Personally I have never been asked for anything upfront but they take my credit card imprint which is the same as many countries .
Not according to the head of the Hematology department at PUCMM, and practicing physician at the HOMS Cancer Center.
The processing has a built-in cost. The blood itself does not. You have to pay for the processing or no blood.
No blood will be administered without labratory processing. That is the cost. Not the blood.
The blood has to be processed by a lab first. This includes typing and testing for pathogens, as well as other blood-borne issues.
This processing by the lab is what costs, not the blood itself.
If a clinic demands payment for blood up front, this is what you are paying for, the recovery of the costs of processing the blood.
Seriously, folks, have you ever received blood in a transfusion here? I have many times. I have a bone marrow cancer that keeps me from producing enough usable red blood cells. I have transfusions whenever my hemoglobin, which I have tested monthly, drops below 8. So here is the actual real-life scoop on getting blood here in Puerto Plata at Centro Medico (Bournigal). I can't say what happens anywhere else in the DR.
When I need a transfusion, I am admitted into the hospital under orders from my hematologist (or emergency room doctor). I have insurance but need a person with me who has a cedula. Then I am taken to a room. The hematologist calls Joselito (a motoconcho), who searches for a person with my blood type A negative. It's not very common here so sometimes I have to accept O negative. Joselito and I have become acquainted and say hello on the street after many transfusions. Joselito brings (or makes sure the donor arrives) at the hospital. I pay Joselito (personally) 4000 pesos for O negative or 4500 for A negative. I need two units so it's double. Then the blood is tested and if OK, then Joselito gives some amount to the donor (don't know the split) and keeps some. I usually give him a tip of 500 pesos or so if he's quick about the process. Then they give me the blood. There is no blood bank. Occasionally, there might be a unit left over from an operation or something but I have always received fresh donated blood, which is just fine with me. At first, it was very disconcerting but after 11 transfusions in the past three years, I know the drill. Also, I like getting fresh blood. Often stored blood doesn't work as well for those of us who need the full blood... Let me know if you have questions!
When I need a transfusion, I am admitted into the hospital under orders from my hematologist (or emergency room doctor). I have insurance but need a person with me who has a cedula. Then I am taken to a room. The hematologist calls Joselito (a motoconcho), who searches for a person with my blood type A negative. It's not very common here so sometimes I have to accept O negative. Joselito and I have become acquainted and say hello on the street after many transfusions. Joselito brings (or makes sure the donor arrives) at the hospital. I pay Joselito (personally) 4000 pesos for O negative or 4500 for A negative. I need two units so it's double. Then the blood is tested and if OK, then Joselito gives some amount to the donor (don't know the split) and keeps some. I usually give him a tip of 500 pesos or so if he's quick about the process. Then they give me the blood. There is no blood bank. Occasionally, there might be a unit left over from an operation or something but I have always received fresh donated blood, which is just fine with me. At first, it was very disconcerting but after 11 transfusions in the past three years, I know the drill. Also, I like getting fresh blood. Often stored blood doesn't work as well for those of us who need the full blood... Let me know if you have questions!
Regardless of how some would like to quibble over semantics, the harsh reality of the situation is that if blood is required for some type of medical procedure within the RD, you will pay money for it. Those that insist in partaking in the proverbial distraction of name-dropping, are simply generating a false narative which may lead others who are unaware of the reality down an unforseen path when the time comes that they may be in need of such services. Titles and biodata aside, any person with questions regarding the matter would be much better served asking the average Dominican what transpires when blood is needed for medical procedures within this country.
Why ask a Dominican? I just told you what happens. You pay for the blood one way or the other. In Puerto Plata, this is how it is done. There are also hospital fees, some of which my Dominican insurance covers but it doesn't cover all of the blood testing processing fees. And Cobraboy...you are just plain misinformed or uninformed.
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...e-sangre-puede-costar-entre-1900-y-5000-pesos
From the horse's mouth.
Matilda
From the horse's mouth.
Matilda
judypdr yes I can fully appreciate your unfortunate situation ..you need blood transfusions of fresh blood .But originally it was suggested that an operation would not take place unless a separate payment of money was paid for the possible use of blood .About three weeks ago, 9 october to be precise, I paid a public hospital 35000 pesos for an operation a Dominican friend urgently needed and no mention of any special payment for blood .So maybe we are getting a more accurate picture of what happens in various parts of RD .I usually agree with Caonabo but not on this occasion .
I don't like to think of myself as a horse (maybe a horse's ass sometimes) but I told you straight what happens. From my mouth to your ears! Not Matilda...but anyone else who maintains someone doesn't pay for blood and processing/testing is calling me a liar and I'm calling you out!
I'm not sure folks understand what every drop of donated blood has to be tested for before it can be infused into another human:
How much do you think you'd be charged if you went to a clinic and asked your blood to be tested for all those possibilities?
RD$4000-5000 seems like a reasonably charge.
Another factor: keep in mind about why it's called a "blood bank." Like a money bank, they need to keep "reserves" for catastrophic occurrences (like a "run" on a bank.) So if you have non-emergency/life-saving surgery and need blood, if a particular type---some are rarer than others--- is in short supply the bank may need to find a donor to replace that type they already have. I highly doubt Jose can find a donor, and that donor's blood is administered a couple of hours later, especially considering many of those tests take a few days to obtain results.
In the best conditions, banked blood is only good for 42 days, six weeks. And around week 3 the platelets begin to form "microembolisms" and can destroy the lung's ability to exchange air (pulmonary inefficiency) and extreme filtration down to 10-40 microns is necessary adding yet more costs to a unit of blood.
- Anti-Trypanosoma cruzi.
- Hepatitis B virus (HBV)
- Hepatitis C virus (HCV 3.0)
- Human Immunodeficiency viruses, Types 1 and 2 (HIV 1,2)
- Human T-Lymphotropic virus (HTLV-I/II)
- Syphilis (Treponema pallidum)
- Zika virus.
- Babesia (babesia microti)
How much do you think you'd be charged if you went to a clinic and asked your blood to be tested for all those possibilities?
RD$4000-5000 seems like a reasonably charge.
Another factor: keep in mind about why it's called a "blood bank." Like a money bank, they need to keep "reserves" for catastrophic occurrences (like a "run" on a bank.) So if you have non-emergency/life-saving surgery and need blood, if a particular type---some are rarer than others--- is in short supply the bank may need to find a donor to replace that type they already have. I highly doubt Jose can find a donor, and that donor's blood is administered a couple of hours later, especially considering many of those tests take a few days to obtain results.
In the best conditions, banked blood is only good for 42 days, six weeks. And around week 3 the platelets begin to form "microembolisms" and can destroy the lung's ability to exchange air (pulmonary inefficiency) and extreme filtration down to 10-40 microns is necessary adding yet more costs to a unit of blood.
"non-emergency/life-saving surgery and need blood"
I am sorry but if I needed life-saving surgery, I would consider that to be an emergency situation.
Did you read my post or not!?!? The 4000 and 4500 I pay for blood is for the donor and motoconcho. The testing/processing is on top of that! Hello. There is no blood bank in Puerto Plata! Have you personally received blood here? If not, please bow out of the discussion!
The "non" applies to "life-saving."
I should have been more clear.
For a point of reference, for many years my company had a contract to supply infusion nurses to several blood banks in the Tampa Bay Area. Infusion nurses are skilled at venipuncture and are highly paid. We saved blood banks a lot of money by outsourcing skilled nurses who did blood donation draws.
Additionally, my company infused blood to patients in their homes on a daily basis.
One becomes very knowledgeable about blood banking procedures through that experience.
So when Mom CB needed two units of blood several weeks ago, I had a chance to chat about how blood banking worked in the DR with an academic hematologist intimately familiar with the system. And except for a few exceptions, it's very similar to the US.
One assumes you had a itemised bill for the RD$35,000? In my experience (and different public hospitals do have different protocols), the cost of the bed, the nursing and the medical staff is free. You provide sheets, food, toilet paper, pillows. You pay for stitches, any pins or metal bits which need inserting in broken bones, all medicines and....blood. Some public hospitals, Anthony Musa in San Pedro, charge for xrays (RD$500 some 10 years ago), others, Moncion for example, do not. If there is a pre-operation charge for any reason, for the drugs or equipment needed, it would include the blood if that was thought to be necessary.
Matilda
Damnit Cobraboy! I rarely get ****ed at anyone about anything but you are full of crap. Just because HOMS does it one way (according to your brilliant source) doesn't mean that's how it works everywhere. And your experience in Florida is irrelevant. Now please shut up! I'm not going to say it again. If you haven't personally received blood here, butt out!
Judy, I only made reference to question a Dominican citizen because some here do not seem to want to understand the reality that is being provided to them by first hand accounts. You provided your example. Matilda provided examples. I have provided one recent example, and have not provided more so as not to tire people with the long list of maladies family, friends, and acquaintances of mine have endured over the years here in RD, but yet, this does not seem to be adequate for some who are more interested in submitting the names and biodata of those they claim to know. I feel it is indeed unjust for posturing in regards to matters of such, which do result in life or death results. As I am sure you are very well aware of, Danilo Medina himself can stand in front of the cameras and say that patients do not pay for blood, but when the situation arises, that person will be paying for.....blood. The doctors themselves steering patient's families in a certain direction for this blood, and receiving a portion of the proceeds in return, is a whole other shameful story, but also related to the topic at hand.
Yes, exactly! Cobraboy is full of it! Reality and policy are rarely the same here. Not annoyed with you. But my experience is just as valid as a Dominican's. That was my point to you