Friend In Hospital Needing Type B+ Blood

[sbathon]

If you can and have time today or tomorrow. I will transport. Young women very ill. They seem to be yes and no as to if the can use type O+.

Call for more info. O871778036.

[sylviex]

Is her type B positive ?

[Tywais]

It appears O+ can be given to B+ patients.

Blood transfusion of the Blood types

* O+ can be given to patients with type O+, A+, B+, AB+ and can receive type O+, O-.

* A+ can be given to patients with type A+, AB+ and can receive type O+, A+, O-, A-.

* B+ can be given to patients with type B+, AB+ and can receive type O+, B+, O-, B-.

* AB+ can be given to patients with type AB+ and can receive type O+, A+, B+, AB+, O-, A-, B-, AB-

* O- can be given to patients with type O+, A+, B+, AB+, O-, A-, B-, AB- and can receive type O-

* A- can be given to patients with type A+, AB+, A-, AB- and can receive type O-, A-

* B- can be given to patients with type B+, AB+, B-, AB- and can receive type O-, B-

* AB- can be given to patients with type AB+, AB- and can receive type O-, A-, B-, AB-

Source

also

Redcross

[sbathon]

"NOTE: Recent Blood research indicates that where, at one time, a person with type O negative Blood was considered to be a 'universal donor,' this may no longer be correct, because of a better understanding of the complex issues of immune reactions related to incompatible donor Blood cells."

She is B+.

It seems B is best but they may take what they can get.

It will be needed tomorrow

Edited July 6, 2008 by sbathon

[photojourn]

If O+ is of any use then call me on 08.759.046.36

Edited July 6, 2008 by photojourn

[Malengone]

Hello Shatton, my wife is ready for tomorrow... (tel 053XXX080).

[koto]

Buddha and God Bless, May the Force be with you

[sbathon]

Thanks for the good wishes.

They seem to be trying very hard to kill her.

She has blood for today she will need B+ tomorrow again.

THEY WILL ONLY ACCEPT BLOOD FROM THAI NATIONALS?????????????? No kidding. I can not understand this system.

If you have B+ and can give I have the form with her name on it]

My cell # 087 177 8036

Land line # 053 854 929

[sylviex]

THEY WILL ONLY ACCEPT BLOOD FROM THAI NATIONALS?????????????? No kidding.

?????????????????????????? , indeed. Which hospital is this ?

So, you are asking here in the hope that we have Thai friends or family who could help ??

Edited July 7, 2008 by sylviex

[cmsally]

B+ seems to be more common in the Thai population.

I don't know of many farang with B

But if they are only accepting from Thais then maybe not such a problem.

Seems a bit strange though I have donated blood for friends in hospital (CM Ram) because not enough O group available.

I would have thought the Suan Dokh lab would have a lot of B group available??

Which hospital are you dealing with?

[gbetromero]

Hello, i was reviewing the forum, about someone in need of donated blood.. I am Mexcian American , living in Thailand, i am certianly O+, BUt to my Understanding and what i have read in the Forum .. Thai's only accept Blood from same nationality........May i ask WHY???????? Is the System that Bad!!!!!! Is Thai Red Cross Corrupted to like everything else in Thailand.....

I love to Volunteer and when someone in a situtation of life and death.... If that someone wants to to live i think they shouldnt be too picky....

Well, if Blood is still needed. Who ever needs it i am an email away..

May God help those that are not opened minded

Lets Hope I dont get ban for these comments I have made...

Gbetromero.

[sylviex]

Seems quite odd.

I think there may be circumstances in which a donor from the same family/ethnic group is preferred, but this case seems somewhat urgent/large quantities of blood are required so it's hard to understand non-Thai nationals with B or other compatible type being turned away. (Not to mention that nationality does not equate with ethnicity, though presumably it often would in this area.) Plus, as cmsally mentioned, B is not a rare type in Asians, so why the shortage ?

[CMMCB]

I'm B+ but unfortunately I gave blood about two weeks ago so can't give any more for a few more weeks.

BTW, I'm a farang and gave blood at Suan Dork Hospital (Maharat) which was used for the elderly Thai mother of a friend. There was no question of farangs not being able to donate. And there was a shortage of B+ blood at that time.

CMMCB

Edited July 7, 2008 by CMMCB

[Flatouthruthefog]

I'm B+ but unfortunately I gave blood about two weeks ago so can't give any more for a few more weeks.

BTW, I'm a farang and gave blood at Suan Dork Hospital (Maharat) which was used for the elderly Thai mother of a friend. There was no question of farangs not being able to donate. And there was a shortage of B+ blood at that time.

CMMCB

I am B_Pos and reacted as soon as I saw this, but the phone number given did not work. Then my wife reminded me that when I last volunteered at the Red Cross 'recruitment desk' at Tesco Lotus Hang Dong some months back they said that at 61 I was past me sell-by date.

Shame.

[sylviex]

The blood collectors appear rather more fussy than might be good for those in need.

Sixty-one is not too old to donate in other places, I am fairly sure ?

Edited July 7, 2008 by sylviex

[jimmym40]

What happened to the OP here. Has he/she not posted anymore. Really didn't provide much information.

My wife needs blood transfusion every two months. We've been around to many of the area hospitals and rec'd all sorts of answers about receiving blood and donating.

For all those that "need" blood. Just FYI, even if you have someone donating blood for "you", it's not free, in fact it's more expensive. They charge you more for their lab to treat/process the blood than it does to buy the "NAT" from the hospital. A unit of NAT blood costs (from McCormick) 900 baht. A unit of blood donated for an individual and the treatment costs approx 2500 baht.

AND, depending on the hospital you go to, many of the smaller hospitals just don't want to be bothered to accept a donor (it causes "work" for them). They would rather just use what they have on hand in their cooler.

Another bit of information. I was told by two different reliable sources that their usually is NO shortage of blood in Chiang Mai. Why? Because whenever the red cross determines the blood supply is low, they call out to the armed forces and have them provide to bring up the shortage.

All I'm trying to do here is provide the information and course of treatment that we have come across here in Chiang Mai for a person requiring blood on a regular basis. As I have had, people have the misconception that hey, I'll donate my blood for so and so, but it's not that easy or inexpensive.

The first couple times my wife required a transfusion, their answer was: "can get tomorrow if we have the blood". Of course, that's scary to hear, "if". Throughout the months, we heard that from two different hospitals, but they did come through. After hearing this two time, I did some investigating. Hospitals do not seem to work "with each other". Or at least don't want to put in the effort to search for the available blood. If it comes in - it comes in. This happend from a small hospital in Lamphun and the San Kampaeng Hospital. Never went back to those two. We've been to two other hospital (can't remember the names), plus Lana and Ram. We ended up finally at McCormick for several reasons. Not in any order of significance, but it's closer, nurses seemed to get to know us and our needs and soon as we walk in the door, much quicker service, ease of procedures, and I'm sure much more reasonsable prices (she never had a transfusion at Ram or SonDuac to compare).

Okay, I'm ranting. Why did I post this? Just to give people the reall scoop about donating blood for a certain individual. I'm sure if a person is in a life or death emergency and bleeding to death, the procedures for donation would be different. Just don't let the hospitals tell you "they don't have any blood".

[photojourn]

THEY WILL ONLY ACCEPT BLOOD FROM THAI NATIONALS?????????????? No kidding. I can not understand this system.

If this indeed the case it should be of concern to every foreigner living in CM. Foreign blood for foreigners and Thai blood for Thai?

I invite the OP to contact me by PM with all the relevant details (hospital name, treating doctor, patients name, etc) or by posting details in this forum so that this matter can be investigated.

The comments from Jimmym40 regarding the pricing of blood should also be a concern. Is this pricing differential the policy at McCormick?

[jimmym40]

to photojourn: I don't know who or what McCormick's policy is. I just know these facts from personal experience:

I (an American), my wife Thai. We have the same blood type. She needs two units every two months. I am able to donate my blood to her (only one unit every three months - their lab policy, but the doc gave the go ahead for me to donate every two months). This is how we discovered the costs involved.

She gets my blood. The cost for them to process is around 1700 - 2300 baht. It's difficult to caluculate the way them list the procedures on the receipt.

The cost of one unit of their "NAT" blood, only 900 baht. The NAT stands for something like "nuclear antibody ... something. It's a level of checking for certain diseases. Non NAT blood is less expensive I'm told, but never wanted/had to use it. I was also told that all the NAT type blood comes from Bangkok because they only the the capability to check at that level. (I don't know if this is true or not, just what I'm told by lab personnel).

Remember, this is Thailand. You ask three different people the same question, you will get three different answers. I'm just happy that we found (McCormick) and that my wife has no problem when it comes time to get a transfusion.

I'm sure folks are curious why she requires the transfusions. She has thalysemia-minor, mostly an asian blood disease where the red blood cells do not/cannot produce sufficiently or are defective which in turn makes her very amenic and very weak. Low red blood cell count can lead to any major organ failure, stroke, heart attack, even death.

She has had this disease for approx 15 yrs, but just in the past 2 yrs has she required the blood transfusions.

[sylviex]

Not everyone is aware that blood types common in their home country/region may be quite rare here. It is good to know your blood type and inform anyone treating you here. (You may wish to add, "I am telling you because I know my type is unusual here." ).

Statistics from USA at :

givelife2.org/aboutblood/bloodtypes.asp

(Sorry, no success pasting in their table which shows the differences clearly).

Edited July 8, 2008 by sylviex

[sbathon]

The posted phone numbers are correct. If you are Thai and have B+ blood and didn't get an answer, please try again. We're trying to keep the phone with us at all times, but sometines cannot. Our Thai friend is in a Thai hopsital, and they told us they would take only Thai national blood, B+. They did not tell us why or if they will at some time accept 0+. She received 2 pints of blood today but will need more in the near future. I'd like to be more candid about her condition and the treatment she has received, but I do not want to jeopardize what treatment she is now receiving. I believe it is the result of past treatment that she is now hemorraging from her nose and mouth and any perforation in her skin. This is a truly tragic situation and you would be performing a life-saving service by donating the blood.

[photojourn]

Thanks JimmyM40.

Details on NAT (Nucleic Acid Amplification Technology) for testing blood donations can be found here: http://www.scbcinfo.org/publications/bulletin_v1_n4.htm

I could well imagine that this testing would only be available in BKK. As to why it's more expensive for non-NAT blood I think my assistant and I will need to have a chat with McCormick and ask –– without reference to any individual case/person of course

It's the situation the OP – or more accurately his friend – is in that is more of an immediate concern given the OPs latest post.

Sbathon I've sent you a PM. Please keep us informed of developments. Seems very odd and bordering on criminal that no blood is better than farang blood

[jimmym40]

Thanks JimmyM40.

Details on NAT (Nucleic Acid Amplification Technology) for testing blood donations can be found here: http://www.scbcinfo.org/publications/bulletin_v1_n4.htm

I could well imagine that this testing would only be available in BKK. As to why it's more expensive for non-NAT blood I think my assistant and I will need to have a chat with McCormick and ask –– without reference to any individual case/person of course

It's the situation the OP – or more accurately his friend – is in that is more of an immediate concern given the OPs latest post.

Sbathon I've sent you a PM. Please keep us informed of developments. Seems very odd and bordering on criminal that no blood is better than farang blood

I cannot believe it either, that they would reject a farang donating blood for a Thai. We were never told what hospital the OP friend is in. It might be a very small local hospital or government hospital that just doesn't want to go thru the procedure to process the blood.

Also, just wanted to clarify, you might have misunderstood. Non NAT blood is not more expensive than the NAT. I may have confused the issue in my post. I do not know how much McCormick charges for nonNAT blood because my wife has never received the Non.

I know there used to be someone who had control of a Thai visa donor list. But it seems that has dropped by the wayside.

Sounds as if you are in contact with the OP. Maybe a suggestion would be for the friend to change hospitals to one that will accept a farang donation. If it's a matter of life or death, I'm sure this would be a great solution.

[Oliver Reed]

I am a Farang with B+ blood group, but i am in Koh Samui till friday, then Bkk till saturday,before flying to London...if theres anything i can do to help message me....hope the lady concerned pulls through

[Flatouthruthefog]

The posted phone numbers are correct. If you are Thai and have B+ blood and didn't get an answer, please try again. We're trying to keep the phone with us at all times, but sometines cannot. Our Thai friend is in a Thai hopsital, and they told us they would take only Thai national blood, B+. They did not tell us why or if they will at some time accept 0+. She received 2 pints of blood today but will need more in the near future. I'd like to be more candid about her condition and the treatment she has received, but I do not want to jeopardize what treatment she is now receiving. I believe it is the result of past treatment that she is now hemorraging from her nose and mouth and any perforation in her skin. This is a truly tragic situation and you would be performing a life-saving service by donating the blood.

I'm quite happy to persevere with this, despite the fact that I happen to be a farang AND 61 years of age.

So there seem to be 2 layers of red tape between my offer and your friend's need. Do PM me at once if my red stuff can penetrate the red tape! I'm in CM all the time, and a life long non-smoker in good health.

[richard10365]

I'm a farang, B+ and live in Chiang Mai. If blood is still needed, send me a message.

[photojourn]

Any updates on this situation?