16 pints of blood were collected today at the Belize Red Cross' blood drive. It's a lot for a single day - especially since voluntary donors in Belize are so few. The Blood Bank is often low on stock, and the BRC fills in when needed. That's why they're encouraging more residents to become donors. Today, Courtney Menzies visited their HQ. Here is her story.
Donating blood starts from the night before - with a healthy meal and a good night's rest. Then, like Richard Castillo, you can make your way to either the blood bank, or in this case, the Belize Red Cross, where they held a blood drive.
After completing a questionnaire and getting your blood tested, you'll then make yourself comfortable, and the attendant will get the process started. A few minutes, and a pint of blood later, you'll be all done.
For Castillo, it's a process he's done several times, and he says it's an easy way to save a life.
Courtney Menzies:
"Are you a regular blood donor?"
Richard Castillo, Blood Donor
"I used to be a regular blood donor but what happened is one time I kind of felt bad, I almost passed but so I decided only to donate when a family member needs or somebody really needs blood then I donate."
Courtney Menzies:
"So what's the reason you came here today?"
Richard Castillo, Blood Donor
"Somebody just called me out of the blue saying they needed blood so I decided to donate today."
"I found that after when you donate blood you should rest at least 15 minutes but that day I did not, I had an emergency, had t o leave, so I just got up and left to do my business but within a couple minutes I felt bad."
Courtney Menzies:
"Why do you feel that it's important to give blood?"
Richard Castillo, Blood Donor
"I think it's important because I would say maybe by donating blood you can save a life, maybe I would say you should donate blood. It's not hard, just come and donate."
Courtney Menzies:
"How are you feeling now?"
Richard Castillo, Blood Donor
"Good."
And the blood that BRC collects goes right back into the community - you never know when you'll find yourself in the hospital in need of a pint or two. But according to the Volunteer & Youth Development Manager, the blood that's donated is never enough.
Monica Heredia, Volunteer & Youth Development Manager, BRC
"It's hard for donors sometimes to make the time to go, we try to do a lot of blood drives, usually on Saturdays but sometimes we do them during the week and the blood drive is very important for us here at the Red Cross because people need blood, for surgeries, for birth, for various different reasons and they can call the Red Cross and request aid for getting blood but the problem with that is sometimes we don't have the blood that they need so it's important for us to do these blood drives so that we could build up the stock so when people call and the need blood, we can assist them."
"It's very hard because of some of the policies, Belize, our population, a lot of us have diabetes, and that's one of the requirements that would get you taken off the donors list right now as the policy stand, people who are diabetic, who are hypertensive, who are one medication, even have age requirements from 18-65, so there's a lot of different policies that may or may not make someone donate."
Courtney Menzies:
"Do you find it turns a lot of people away, that they don't want to donate because of this red tape?"
Monica Heredia
"Sometimes that's the case, I wouldn't say turn away but more because they're not qualified so they don't come and we also have the stigma that some people are scared of needles so they don't want to donate or they think it's a long process or it's hard but really it takes about 15 minutes and most of that is just waiting time that we verify that you're okay to leave after you donate."
And even if you make it past the initial test, it's uncommon for your pint to be rendered invalid by the Blood Bank. That's why they need as many donors as they can get, but according to the supervisor, most of the blood they receive is just replacement.
Adrian Martinez, Supervisor, The Blood Bank
"We could donate blood in the blood bank as replacement blood donation, meaning the blood bank will help you, you just need to replace the unit that was given or you could be a volunteer blood donor. Volunteer basically means you're coming to the blood bank, you donating your blood, and that would be for future use and for emergency cases."
"The rate of donation has been been I would say like 92% of replacement then volunteer, which would be 8-12%, it does vary, it depends on the demand of the blood, it's just like any other bank. We do have donors coming in and donors coming out, and then in the event if you need blood then the policy for the hospital will need you to have a donation available for you."
So, if you're a donor, you won't only be saving a life, but you could be saving your own as well.
And while BRC's blood drives are held periodically, the Blood Bank is always open for donations.
If you want to donate blood you can visit the blood bank at the Belize Diagnostic Center at the corner of Leslie and Meighan Avenue.
