Urgent Call For O Positive And O Negative Blood
[Updated] The Bermuda Hospitals Board [BHB] said they are “urgently calling for members of the public with O positive and O negative to donate blood this week.”
Dr Fakunle, Consultant Haematologist, comments: “Due to recent emergency usage, stocks in this blood type are low. With the upcoming holiday weekend reducing the usual number of donors, the Blood Donor Centre wants to ensure supplies are adequately stocked.
“We are asking people to donate between Monday through Thursday from 8.30am to 2.30pm so the required testing of donated blood can be carried out and results received ahead of the holiday weekend. All of us in the blood donor centre would like to thank our community in advance for their kind assistance in ensuring we can continue to save lives.”
Please contact 236-5067 to make an appointment.
Update May 20: BHB has released a statement saying that their supply of O positive and O negative blood is now at a healthy levels thanks to the public donation response.
A spokesperson said, “Bermuda Hospitals Board would like to extend great appreciation to members of the public for the tremendous response we’ve received following our appeal for urgently needed blood donations. We are now able to ensure an adequate supply of blood and, as always, are grateful to every donor who came forward and offered to assist us.
“While at the moment we no longer need additional donor volunteers, we do encourage people to contact us later this month so we may keep our supplies stocked to meet the needs of our patients. The Blood Donor Centre thanks the community again for responding to our appeal.”
Very rare.. my ex-husband is; hope he goes.
I have O- blood but due to living in the U.K for a period of time in my youth (mad cow disease time), I’m not allowed to donate.
As a gay man I cannot either.
do you get paid to donate.
No.
we should get paid been our blood is valuable now lol
Typical Bermudian. Pathetic and sad.
go back home den if you think we’re pathetic
I am home here in bermy, thanks. Yea, talking about my own. Not always proud of my fellow bredren.
The BHB does not want my blood because I spent over 90 days in total in England between 1980-1996. Well, I tried.
What a shame expats can’t be screened to donate.
Duh, expats are the predominant donors. Their recent mass exodus is the reason why there is such a shortage.
Why don’t you get your ass out of Bermuda and stay off our websites if you have such disdain for us?
The reason they have been short of donors for 20 years plus is that their main donor group was British expats. They will not take blood from anyone who lived in Britain for 6 months post 1980. So there went their donors. Even if they left recently they couldn’t have donated. Funny how they are allowed to give blood in Britain.
paid?? are you serious????!!! how about having saved a life should be enough payment… how shallow of you… smh
The Blood Donor people have a good policy in my home town – if you are a regular card carrying donor in need of blood you don’t pay for blood. Only fair right?! And donations are high.
Perhaps had they not dismantled an entire department, putting many Bermudians who DO believe in hard work out of work, their supply would be better stocked.
The Bermuda Hospitals Board, snuffing out all things Bermudian, one parish at a time.
What the heck are you talking about. You make no sense.
I make sense, you simply lack the knowledge and depth to understand.
That hospital is a business, so as others have mentioned, they should be paid.
“Business first, people second”, is that not the BHB’s motto?
six thousand blood donating expats left and are donating somewhere else now, just saying’
smoke too much…sorry
RIDICULOUS that ex-pats e.g. Brits can’t donate. It simply can’t be that urgent!
I am a Bermudian who has donated here in Bermuda and in the US. The restriction is only on those that have lived in areas that were subjected to Mad Cow disease in the UK. There are also restrictions on other countries that are in Malaria zones. This is done for the safety of the blood! This is it. and just an FYI – the US has the same restrictions. If you give blood in the US you could not have lived in the UK during 1980 – 1996 for more than 90 days!
To be an expat working in Bermuda you would have to be over 21.
Therefore it is pretty safe to say that most expats here from Britain were in Britain prior to 96. Unless they were in another non mad cow country. So the expats who left in the last few years couldnt have donated anyway. The shortage started in early 90′s and has never got better.
Can someone explain why it is that expats or people having lived on england cant donate?
And as far as gays donating I can understand why they would be wary but I dont see why they cant just screen the blood and if all is okay then let them donate. The way people in general sleep around nowadays anyone can be at risk of disease like wth
There was a mad cow disease epidemic in the U.K been 1980 and 1996. So as a precaution, we cannot donate.
*between
The inability of expats or anyone who has spent time in the UK to donate is absolutely ridiculous. PARTICULARLY as all meat here in Bermuda comes from either the UK or the States, both of whom have had miniscule occurrences of mad cow disease (or NVCJD).
I think it needs to be clear that expats CAN donate. It is people that lived in the UK between 1980 and 1996 who cannot donate, due to the risk that they have been subjected to Mad Cow disease.
It is not just people who have been in the UK.
The below is an excerpt from the policy document. They essentially exclude anyone who lived in Europe for an extended period (or multiple short periods_ in the last 34 years !
This seems a ridiculous policy in an island which has a population of 65,000 people. What do they do in Europe for blood? Perhaps BHB should apply the European policies. Or perhaps (crazy suggestion I know ) TEST the blood!
“There is an indefinite period of deferral for people who have spent an accumulative total time of;
1) Three months or more in United Kingdom between 1 January 1980 and 31 December 1996.
2) Five years or more in Europe between 1 January1980 till the present day.”
Really this policy on top of the other myriad criteria (deferred if you have ever been detained in a juvenile centre or jail ??? ) and they wonder why they have a continuous shortage of blood !
Also wrt CJD, if everyone in Bermuda was eating British Beef during the period 1980-1996, surely anyone living in Bermuda during this period would have been exposed also and should also be under the same restrictions. It makes ZERO sense.
as 4 beeing gay not making u eligible to donate um keep it to urself like i been saying for decades and its a non-issue. also r they saying that gay automatically means a blood born disease?? interesting.thought they gave up that campain decades ago.
I usually donate, but am deferred until a year has passed since my last tattoo!
I’m o neg! Can I donate being that I’m pregnant?
Please give Your Blood free ,as you never know when you will need that life saver your self.
It does you absolutely NO harm to give blood.
You will come away with a deep sense of pride and satisfaction.
Have no fear, the dedicated nurses in our hospital are very professional they know exactly what they are doing, they all have my admiration.
I have given only 13 times so I am related to a bunch of you lot, that is if you are an A + we are cousins – in- law.
King Edward stopped call me in because I think it was because of age.
Do you know your blood type ?
You may donate your current magazines while you are at it.
THANK YOU !
How many of you commentators have tried to donate in the last 12 months? How many of you know how to tell a little lie based on what you know about yourselves? Just asking.
O is not rare at all it is the most common that’s why they need it!
Chances are that someone in an accident is more likely O than anything else. Also O is a universal donor.