O Negative Blood Needed In Phuket For American

[NBT TV Phuket]

Hope it's OK to put this message in full on forum. We received email this morning; Mod can edit if we cannot show full names and telephone numbers, but urgency is important:

perhaps mods should set up an emergency request sub-forum for all areas, for this type of request.

"Dear Friends and Neighbors:

A good friend to many and a very good Phuket community supporter is in need for a rare blood type “O NEGITIVE”.

Steve Swan is the owner of the Crows Nest bar down on Soi Sea Dragon. He is retired US Navy, member of “The Navy League”, and a real nice guy, the kind of guy that would instantly give you the shirt of his back if you needed it. If you have ever had the chance to meet Steve you already know this!

Steve got in a motorcycle accident yesterday early morning, a car came through an intersection and broadsided him, he is currently in the hospital with a broken hip and broken pelvis. Evidently the driver of the car and passenger fled the scene, one is in custody!

He needs blood type: O NEGATIVE !!!

It is a rare blood type especially in Asia, and is not easily stocked here in Phuket.

If you have this blood type or if you know of anyone with this blood type, please consider going to Vachira Hospital to donate!!! I am sure you could also go to Phuket International Hospital and just mention the name Steve Swan.

Donations for blood can be given on Saturday or Sunday from 8:30 am until 3:00 pm, and on Monday same times.

Steve's surgery is scheduled for Monday; the Surgery is extensive and many units the blood is needed to be on standby before then.

If you are wondering why he is at Vachira, he was admitted to and will recover at Phuket International Hospital, where he was yesterday and early today, evidently Vachira has some of the right blood and the correct surgical brace he needs.

For those that know Steve he is in allot of pain and heavily sedated but you can try to visit him.

Thanks,

Brad Kenny

081-6334279 "

[george]

Type ‘O’ negative donation urgently needed

PHUKET CITY: Friends of an American man injured in a road accident are appealing for anyone with type ‘O’ negative blood to contact Vachira Phuket Hospital immediately.

Steve Ward, 48, was seriously injured on Wednesday night after his motorcycle collided with a car.

Steve, who owns a bar on Bangla Road in Patong, urgently needs a donation as Vachira Hospital is about to run out of this type of blood.

Anyone who can help should contact Vachira Hospital blood bank on 076-361234 ext 1285, and say they want to donate blood for Steve Ward in room 210.

-- Phuket Gazette 2009-05-02

[NBT TV Phuket]

Further message from Brad:

"THANKS TO ALL! But Steve is not in the clear as of yet concerning the need for blood!

I visited Steve today at Vachira Hospital and have some first hand information. I found out he got hit on the now famous big curve on the way from Karoen/Kata to Chalong Circle. Some Farang was in the turn on the wrong side of the road and Steve coming downhill in the blind turn. Steve swerved at the last second just missing a head on and got clipped by the car on his right hip area. This broke his femur and also the hip and pelvis, with allot of internal bleeding. He has little feeling or use of either leg right now and needs 1-2 units of blood daily plus more for the operation. He needs a two part operation and if they have enough blood they will do both consecutively. So his need for blood is two-fold, 1-2 units per day up to the operation due to internal bleeding, and then 3-4 units for the operation.

Good News is that at least 3 people have responded in Phuket since the first e-mail, all from QSI International School so far!

We are hopeful for others because he needs a minimum of 7-8 units of blood up to the operation which is scheduled for Monday morning. There has been another response from Bangkok with “O Negative” and that person will donate through the Red Cross in Bangkok for Steve.

So more “O Negative” blood is still needed!

If you’re in Phuket please go direct to Vachira Hospital 4th floor Blood Bank.

If you’re in Bangkok you can go to any Red Cross or Hospital Blood Bank and donate for Steve Swan in Vachira Hospital Phuket– Nomklao Building room 210, then please call to Khun Vichot whom is the director of the Vachira Hospital Blood Bank at 089-6508998 and give him the details and he will see to the transfer to Phuket of that blood.

Many thanks and great to see the positive response so quick and reassuring to all if any of us or our family members need assistance like this in the future!

Thanks!

Brad Kenny"

PS

Andaman News NBT TV (VHF dial) returns on Monday 4 May 2009 at 8.30am & perhaps repeats on Phuket Cable TV channel 1 at 3.30pm, 7pm & 1am, broadcast to Phang Nga, Krabi & Phuket provinces & Mazz Radio FM108 at 7pm in Phuket, & http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/ & www.YouTube.com/AndamanNews Send comments to [email protected]

[IgnacioE]

Further message from Brad:

"THANKS TO ALL! But Steve is not in the clear as of yet concerning the need for blood!

I visited Steve today at Vachira Hospital and have some first hand information. I found out he got hit on the now famous big curve on the way from Karoen/Kata to Chalong Circle. Some Farang was in the turn on the wrong side of the road and Steve coming downhill in the blind turn. Steve swerved at the last second just missing a head on and got clipped by the car on his right hip area. This broke his femur and also the hip and pelvis, with allot of internal bleeding. He has little feeling or use of either leg right now and needs 1-2 units of blood daily plus more for the operation. He needs a two part operation and if they have enough blood they will do both consecutively. So his need for blood is two-fold, 1-2 units per day up to the operation due to internal bleeding, and then 3-4 units for the operation.

Good News is that at least 3 people have responded in Phuket since the first e-mail, all from QSI International School so far!

We are hopeful for others because he needs a minimum of 7-8 units of blood up to the operation which is scheduled for Monday morning. There has been another response from Bangkok with "O Negative" and that person will donate through the Red Cross in Bangkok for Steve.

So more "O Negative" blood is still needed!

If you're in Phuket please go direct to Vachira Hospital 4th floor Blood Bank.

If you're in Bangkok you can go to any Red Cross or Hospital Blood Bank and donate for Steve Swan in Vachira Hospital Phuket– Nomklao Building room 210, then please call to Khun Vichot whom is the director of the Vachira Hospital Blood Bank at 089-6508998 and give him the details and he will see to the transfer to Phuket of that blood.

Many thanks and great to see the positive response so quick and reassuring to all if any of us or our family members need assistance like this in the future!

Thanks!

Brad Kenny"

PS

Andaman News NBT TV (VHF dial) returns on Monday 4 May 2009 at 8.30am & perhaps repeats on Phuket Cable TV channel 1 at 3.30pm, 7pm & 1am, broadcast to Phang Nga, Krabi & Phuket provinces & Mazz Radio FM108 at 7pm in Phuket, & http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/ & www.YouTube.com/AndamanNews Send comments to [email protected]

I've boycotted this forum for months but now I plead that if any of you on the island can help Steve, please do it.

Me and my wife are O+, otherwise we would be there donating blood - and whenever I do it, I pass out.

He's the greatest guy in the world and had always lended me a helping hand when he didn't have to for any reason.

So please help him if you can,

Iggy

[simon43]

I have met Steve many times when I'm doing my TPV work in Patong.

He is a GREAT guy! - I'm shocked to hear of this accident since I walked past his bar last night and wondered why he was not there.

I second this appeal - if you have this blood type, please go to Vachira and spare a bit of it for Steve

Simon

[Tazzz]

Phuket International Hospital maintains a blood database for use in emergencies and is seeking people, particularly those with Rh negative and other rare blood groups to record their details on the database.

Within Phuket, Rh negative blood is rare. For the foreign population, around 16% has Rh negative blood. For the Thai population, this falls to .3%. In an emergency where Rh negative blood is required for transfusion, there is sometimes a shortage and an urgent call through the media is needed to get people to donate. An up to date database with emergency contact details will reduce the delay in getting access to urgently needed blood.

Phuket International Hospital will check your blood group for free and add your details to our database. This database is then provided to the Thailand Red Cross Blood Bank and other major hospitals in Phuket for use in emergencies. It only takes a minute to check and no appointment is necessary. Just come into Phuket International Hospital and go to the Laboratory Department. Tell them you want to get on the database.

For additional information, contact the hospital.

Your blood, particularly Rh negative blood is urgently needed. Get checked for free, get on the database.

[phuketsub]

Good news: The word is that the surgery went very well

[LivinginKata]

Monday, May 4, 2009

Phuket friends out in force for Steve Swan

Steve Swan, well-known for his tattoos and kind heart, at his birthday celebration in Phuket last year.

PHUKET CITY: Thanks to a strong response from Phuket’s expat community, accident victim Steve Swan has more than enough blood for his scheduled surgery today, his friends say.

Mr Swan, an American who runs the Crow's Nest bar and tattoo parlor on Soi Seadragon in Patong, suffered fractures of his left leg, hip and pelvis after being hit by a car on the hairpin turn on Patak Road in Rawai last Friday.

Mr Swan’s friend Brad Kenny said Steve was scheduled to undergo surgery at Vachira Phuket Hospital today.

Fortunately, appeals for donations of the O-negative blood needed resulted in 11 units being donated by yesterday afternoon.

Doctors earlier said it would take eight units to ensure a safe procedure.

While O-negative blood is fairly common among Caucasians, it is found in less than 0.5% of Asians, Mr Kenny said.

To meet the need for rare blood types in the local blood bank at Vachira Hosptial, Phuket International Hospital maintains a master list of potential blood donors on Phuket.

The list is shared with all major medical practitioners on the island.

Foreigners who don’t know their blood type can find out free of charge at Phuket International Hospital, Mr Kenny added.

Because the island faces chronic shortages, foreign residents with rare blood types are encouraged to donate on the 4^th floor of Vachira Phuket Hospital (353 Yaowarat Rd, Phuket Town. Tel: 076-361234. Fax: 076-211155. Hotline: 1669. ).

-- Phuket Gazette 2009-05-04

– Stephen Fein

[merijn]

Unfortunately I’m not in Phuket at the moment otherwise I would give blood as I’m O-Neg.

Normally Vachira Hospital calls me if they need O-Neg which happens every few months.

Hopefully he is recovering good and back home soon.

[Phuket_Brad]

Yesterday at 19:00 hours, Mr. Steve Swan, a good friend of many in Phuket, unexpectedly passed away while recovering from a motorcycle accident at Vachira Hospital in Phuket. Apparently he died of heart failure and his family in the USA has been notified. A blood drive was launched in part through many island friends, the Rotary Club, and members here at Thai Visa Forum due to a rare type of blood needed, which was successful and allowed for an operation to repair the extensive hip damage. His friend and family want to again thank everyone involved. Steve was a retired US Navy Chief and the owner of the Crows Nest Bar on Soi Sea Dragon in Patong. Last night abut 50 friends and sailors from the visiting USS John Paul Jones gathered at the Crows Nest in remembrance. Steve is know as the type of guy that would help anyone out and loved Phuket and his life. Funeral services will be advised.

RIP

Brad Kenny

[LivinginKata]

What a shame ... RIP Steve

[sbk]

Condolences to his family, friends and loved ones. What a sad outcome.

[Valentine]

My condolences to family & friends. Another sad & tragic story to add to Phuket's woeful trafiic accident statistics. Each & everyone of them results in so much heartache & grief along with considerable financial burden for the families.

Wouldn't it be great to have a promotional campaign aimed at cutting down on road accidents. Perhaps Brad through Rotary & myself through IBAP could generate some support

[gpdjohn]

May your sea be calm and wind in your sail.

Rest in peace, Chief.