It would be great if we could get a list of what is allowed and what is not allowed. Do these differ from bloodbank to bloodbank, or are the rules universal?
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In the US these rules are set by current USDA regulations. There is a regulation that if you spent a lot of time in Europe before or around 1997 (which I did) - they are not supposed to accept your blood for donation in any bank or clinic. What would be the regulating organ in the DR? Ministry or Health or something like that? Can we look it up on their website?
15 years here & you still learn something every day! I have just come back from seeing the doctor in charge of the blood bank at Ricardo Limardo hospital in Puerto Plata. Ricardo Limardo is the public hospital and yes they do have a blood bank. She will only take blood donors who are male, under 65 years of age, with 45% haematocrit (they do a PCV (packed cell volume test)at time of donation to check the proportion of space red blood cells take up in the blood). Other exclusions are hepatitis, tattoos, piercings etc - the things you'd expect. Women are excluded from donating: any age, all women. Of course I asked why & was told donations from women cause a lot of problems 'Women get a lot of headaches' she said. Didn't exactly sound like a scientific explanation to me, but she's the doctor & I'm not.
Maybe someone else would like to check a private clinic in a different location to see if same exclusions apply?
I ran this by Mercedes when I got home & she confirmed that women in this country are not blood donors. Her sister needed blood once in an emergency & she volunteered but they wouldn't take it. She also said mothers wouldn't be allowed to give blood to their children in an emergency.
If this turns out to be a universal exclusion maybe we could work on a facilitative educational campaign? I'm not in favour of imposing my UK culture on the DR, but excluding half the population is such a waste. I don't know if this stems from old wives' tales, or the need to reinforce machismo but whatever it is I think we could play a role in helping to facilitate change...........slowly.
Sorry, ladies. Don't shoot the messenger!
Maybe someone else would like to check a private clinic in a different location to see if same exclusions apply?
I ran this by Mercedes when I got home & she confirmed that women in this country are not blood donors. Her sister needed blood once in an emergency & she volunteered but they wouldn't take it. She also said mothers wouldn't be allowed to give blood to their children in an emergency.
If this turns out to be a universal exclusion maybe we could work on a facilitative educational campaign? I'm not in favour of imposing my UK culture on the DR, but excluding half the population is such a waste. I don't know if this stems from old wives' tales, or the need to reinforce machismo but whatever it is I think we could play a role in helping to facilitate change...........slowly.
Sorry, ladies. Don't shoot the messenger!
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Incredible! I'm sure we'll find the roots to this in some old social, perhaps religion related, taboo.
Interesting that the doctor knew what my reaction (lack of comprehension) would be. I could tell from her smile & body language (of the 'you're going to find this odd but..........' variety). And from her age this doctor has been a doctor for many years. So maybe we need to address this with female medics here, consciousness raising etc?
Well Lambada now appears to have uncovered the main reason for the blood shortages... I am shocked and appalled that women are excluded from giving blood. It was 'touched upon' in the previous thread, but I thought it may just pertain to one situation. I now have a horrible feeling that it may apply to every situation here, unless the private clinics operate under a different code of practice. I'd be interested to know how many deaths of admissions to Ricardo Limardo hospital in the last 5 years can be attributed to lack of blood!
There are three stories on the previous 'Let's hope we never need blood thread' telling of blood shortages in times of need. In two of the stories (posts 27 and 29) televised appeals had to be made to find 'suitable' donors who, in one case at least, appear to have been male Dominicans who were 'rewarded' for their efforts! I wonder if Dominican women would have been paid the same (if at all!) if they were permitted to give blood.....
In one of the cases, a televised appeal was necessary because 4 blood banks in SD didn't have blood! The recipient of the appeal, had MANY people coming forward and after paying for those people to be separated out into those that were suitable etc, the end cost of 8 pints of blood was $1800! It would appear that the cost of the blood and the 'screening' of donors process doesn't appear to be covered by medical insurance.....
In the 3rd case (an emergency one), 4 blood banks were visited in Santiago before the necessary blood was found, and even then there was a hold up because the paperwork was missing a particular hospital 'stamp' and the blood would not be released until it was obtained, even though it was an emergency situation!
I agree with Lambada about not trying to impose our own cultures on the DR, but I agree with her that, in this situation, when we're talking about saving lives, something has to be done! As Lambada said (and, as a resident of 15 years, she knows her stuff!) it will probably be a slow change, but it's surely one that has to begin as soon as possible.....
So, if anybody can given any information on the blood giving exclusions of any of the private clinics it would be very welcome. I cannot even begin to put into words how I imagine a mother must feel who is unable to donate blood to her child when there is no other blood available........and no 'time' for a televised appeal.......
There are three stories on the previous 'Let's hope we never need blood thread' telling of blood shortages in times of need. In two of the stories (posts 27 and 29) televised appeals had to be made to find 'suitable' donors who, in one case at least, appear to have been male Dominicans who were 'rewarded' for their efforts! I wonder if Dominican women would have been paid the same (if at all!) if they were permitted to give blood.....
In one of the cases, a televised appeal was necessary because 4 blood banks in SD didn't have blood! The recipient of the appeal, had MANY people coming forward and after paying for those people to be separated out into those that were suitable etc, the end cost of 8 pints of blood was $1800! It would appear that the cost of the blood and the 'screening' of donors process doesn't appear to be covered by medical insurance.....
In the 3rd case (an emergency one), 4 blood banks were visited in Santiago before the necessary blood was found, and even then there was a hold up because the paperwork was missing a particular hospital 'stamp' and the blood would not be released until it was obtained, even though it was an emergency situation!
I agree with Lambada about not trying to impose our own cultures on the DR, but I agree with her that, in this situation, when we're talking about saving lives, something has to be done! As Lambada said (and, as a resident of 15 years, she knows her stuff!) it will probably be a slow change, but it's surely one that has to begin as soon as possible.....
So, if anybody can given any information on the blood giving exclusions of any of the private clinics it would be very welcome. I cannot even begin to put into words how I imagine a mother must feel who is unable to donate blood to her child when there is no other blood available........and no 'time' for a televised appeal.......
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In the posts referred to by myself and Isobella (talking about the same incident, by the way) this was a private clinic, Cedimat, allegedly one of the best and most enlightened in the country, so I think we have a long battle ahead of us, but that's no reason not to try to win it.
I'm up for trying to do a bit of consciousness raising if we can come up with a strategy.
Linda.
I'm up for trying to do a bit of consciousness raising if we can come up with a strategy.
Linda.
I do apologise, I thought yourself and Isobella were referring to separate incidents as Isobella's didn't state the name of the person. I see what you mean about 'a long battle ahead' if Cedimat takes the same stance with regard to refusing female donors.
I guess a strategy requires careful thought and consideration, given the current situation..... I guess the first thing to do is to find out the real reason why women aren't allowed to donate and who exactly is responsible for that decision so we can see what we're 'up against' in the quest to 'raise consciousness'....
I have a missionary nursing friend who runs public clinics and has had quite a lot of dealings with the health authorities in the past. She is away at present but when she gets back shortly I will see if she has any ideas.
Linda
Linda
Good luck with your campaign for re education.
In the meantime, I would be a willing donor as I used to give regularly in the UK.
O Negative - and a man with no tatoos or piercings!
Alex - Cabarete.
I was lead to believe that O neg was quite uncommon, but there's three of us already. Good news for us because we can only receive O neg.
In the meantime, I would be a willing donor as I used to give regularly in the UK.
O Negative - and a man with no tatoos or piercings!
Alex - Cabarete.
I was lead to believe that O neg was quite uncommon, but there's three of us already. Good news for us because we can only receive O neg.
Thank you Alex, I've added you to the list. I guess we'll keep it running while people still want to add to it (especially if they're men with no tattos or piercings!). Obviously, in the meantime, we'll all try to find out more with regard to exclusions and re-educating people..... but I guess at the moment, the more men the better!
A Positive
Estrella1 (Estrella) - Puerto Plata
la flaca (Denise) - Santiago
A Negative
Gini - Cabrera (since next mid-september
O Positive
Whirleybird (Shirley) - near Sabaneta
Whirleybird's Partner (Charlie) - near Sabaneta
Linda Stapleton - Between Cabarete and Sosua
O Negative
Sharlene - Sosua
adrianb - Santiago
beeza (Alex) - Cabarete
A Positive
Estrella1 (Estrella) - Puerto Plata
la flaca (Denise) - Santiago
A Negative
Gini - Cabrera (since next mid-september
O Positive
Whirleybird (Shirley) - near Sabaneta
Whirleybird's Partner (Charlie) - near Sabaneta
Linda Stapleton - Between Cabarete and Sosua
O Negative
Sharlene - Sosua
adrianb - Santiago
beeza (Alex) - Cabarete
When I spoke to Isobella about this the other day, the reasons she was given for women not being allowed to donate were as follows:
1) Women take longer to replace donated blood in their own bodies than men
2) Many Dominican women are very thin and they will not take blood from anyone weighing under 7 stones.
I would add that many Dominican women are not very thin and certainly many gringas, including myself, are decidedly fuerte, so why not base it on that at the time of donating. You wouldn't need to weigh people but you'd have a fair idea of whether or not they seemed fit to donate, surely....but I guess rules are rules, for now.
I used to donate for many years in England and can't remember if size was a criteria, never having been anywhere near 7 stones myself. However, after I first visited the DR, when the AIDs issue was still relatively new, I was no longer able to donate as I had been to a "high risk" country. I don't know if that criteria has now been lifted in England.
1) Women take longer to replace donated blood in their own bodies than men
2) Many Dominican women are very thin and they will not take blood from anyone weighing under 7 stones.
I would add that many Dominican women are not very thin and certainly many gringas, including myself, are decidedly fuerte, so why not base it on that at the time of donating. You wouldn't need to weigh people but you'd have a fair idea of whether or not they seemed fit to donate, surely....but I guess rules are rules, for now.
I used to donate for many years in England and can't remember if size was a criteria, never having been anywhere near 7 stones myself. However, after I first visited the DR, when the AIDs issue was still relatively new, I was no longer able to donate as I had been to a "high risk" country. I don't know if that criteria has now been lifted in England.
Yes it is a criterion - in UK exclusion is below 50kgs (7st 12lbs or 110 lbs for the non-Brits who don't use stones). See.........I'm learning!
. So I'd be on the cusp for that too since I weigh 110 lbs (never a factor for me in UK where I weighed 140+.........).Has anyone else done any work on this? So far we know that the public hospital in PP and a private clinic in SD won't take female donors. Before we can conclude that women are excluded we need to have asked at more places. How about some of the Santiago people asking, both at a public hospital and at a private clinic? And maybe one of the SD people asking at a public hospital? If ALL those come back as 'no' to female donors then it would probably be safe to conclude that it is a country wide exclusion.
Anyone prepared to ask?
I have a reply from my cousin in Santo Domingo, and she tells me that women can donate blood. As the matter of fact in her youth she was president of the juvenile chapter of the Red Cross from 1964 to 1968 and women were called to donate blood as a humanitarian effort.
Also have a response from Dr. Socrates E. Sosa Pe?a Director National Blood Program. The following is a copy of his e-mail response to me. The English translation follows...
Attached Message
From: socrates sosa <socratessosa@hotmail.com>
To: Alfredo Hidalgo <prometheus5@verizon.net>
Subject: RE:
Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2007 16:55:00 +0000
Hope this info helps to clarify some things.
Many thanks Alfredo. Since you're already in contact with him, could I ask you to ask him for a list of locations where female blood donors would be acceptable? We already know of 2 where they are not: the clinic referred to in SD by Linda Stapleton & the public health hospital in PP (Ricardo Limardo) investigated by me. Let's try and find the places which do accept women. Have to say I didn't get the impression from doctor in charge of blood bank in PP that 'Hay que ver si la informacion osale de algun establecimiento en donde no se queria trabjr y esa fue la razon que explicaron para quedarse sentados.' I'm not sure if this is a case of the Director of the National Blood Programme saying what the policy ought to be and the doctors in the clinics and hospitals deciding on the practice, which is different. However, if he can provide locations where it is acceptable for women to donate, then those female DR1'ers interested can try donating at those places and if they get refused then a letter can go straight back to Dr. Socrates E. Sosa Pe?a.
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