Phuket Poll: Should foreigners 'pay' for visa runs with blood?

Phuket Gazette

Phuket Regional Blood Bank Acting Director Pornthip Rattajak saw merit in the idea of foreigners making blood donations instead of doing visa runs. Photo: Phuket Blood Bank

Former Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha, who retired last month, hands out awards at a 'Every Blood Donor is a HERO' recognition event earlier this year. Photo: Gazette file

PHUKET: -- Last month a contributor to the Phuket Gazette’s online forum raised a very interesting suggestion concerning blood donations in lieu of visa runs.

Even the Acting Director of the Phuket Regional Blood Bank, Pornthip Rattajak, saw merit in the idea, especially considering that foreigners with Rhesus-negative blood groups are especially welcome to make donations, as those types are very rare among Thais.

Foreigners involved in accidents are the most frequent recipients of donated Rh-negative blood, and during the high season and Vegetarian Festival many tourists visit Phuket and accidents tend to occur more often, she said.

However, there are other ways foreigners living in Phuket might be of help to society.

Which one of the following options would you think acceptable for a foreigner to earn an official extension to their stay in Thailand?

1. A blood donation once every two months.

2. Volunteering for community projects for one morning a week.

3. Being available to undertake translation services for public and private-sector organizations.

4. Paying an official fee of 2,000 baht to the Immigration office.

5. None of the above as the current system works well and doesn’t need amending.

To have your say in our latest poll, click here.

If you have already voted and want to check the latest results, click here.

To view the results of the previous poll, asking whether record-breaking events such as the Go Eco Phuket’s ‘Dive Against Debris’ underwater cleanup actually achieve their intended goals, click here.

To expand your views on this issue, leave a comment in the readers’ forum below. The Phuket Gazette welcomes any input that meets our House Rules.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2012/Phuket-Poll-Should-foreigners-pay-for-visa-runs-with-blood-19228.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2012-10-22

Any of them except the current system would be fine.

I'm thinking the same. Good that there is new ideas on the table.

Visa run sounds quite humiliating thing to do, and all for what?

Cue the 'holier than thou' brigade who think there's plenty options in the current visa system.

"4". Although I wouldn't put a price on it just yet. Immigration's primary role is, of course, to control who's coming and going but its secondary role is a business, pure and simple. Why are so many countries ashamed of that fact. Let them work out the price.

Give me the option of a (no work, or business) residence visa, even if it's $500-$800 a year (multiple entry), that gives me a year of not having to do stupid border runs or 'report' to immigration every 90 days I'll be first in line. Isn't $500-800 a year roughly what many people are paying (not to the government, is the stupid part) to pretend to be students anyway?

Visa rules the world over should be abolished. We should be free to travel and live wherever we like. I just don't see why we have to be denied the right to live in a particular place for no good reason. The super rich are allowed to live almost anywhere. But even those with enough money to live anywhere are denied the right.

A poorly constructed survey unfortunately; so essentially meaningless...

"Which one of the following options would you think acceptable for a foreigner to earn an official extension to their stay in Thailand?" makes no sense. I certainly think more than one is acceptable - as do most respondents I would guess.

Visa rules the world over should be abolished. We should be free to travel and live wherever we like. I just don't see why we have to be denied the right to live in a particular place for no good reason. The super rich are allowed to live almost anywhere. But even those with enough money to live anywhere are denied the right.

Of course this statement means you and not all the Africans and Arabs that wants to move to your home town.

Can't volunteer, you need a work permit.

I like the idea having been a donor for years it would be an easy option for me.

However it could discriminate against those who cannot give like those excluded because of the mad cow fiasco in the UK. Could it be challenged on legal grounds ?

Can't volunteer, you need a work permit.

Yes 2 & 3 are out as it involves work of which you need a permit, so even voluntarily giving blood may be out also.

in stead of the annoying 90 day report of your same address over and over, 90 day bloodletting or leave the country ?

i hope i never need blood transfusion... what if you got hiv/jabba/parasites infested blood ???

you think they really check for that overhere ?

Visa rules the world over should be abolished. We should be free to travel and live wherever we like. I just don't see why we have to be denied the right to live in a particular place for no good reason. The super rich are allowed to live almost anywhere. But even those with enough money to live anywhere are denied the right.

Of course this statement means you and not all the Africans and Arabs that wants to move to your home town.

Haha.

Hmm highest voted answer to the poll is currently "None of the above as the current system works well and doesn’t need amending."??

This is an amazingly stupid idea. Making blood donation compulsory in any way or paying it for it automatically encourages people to lie on the questionnaires where they are asked for details of medical history, particularly regarding infectious diseases.

I remember going to sell blood in Greece years ago because it was a backpacker thing to do, although I didn't need the cash. An Ozzie girl who obviously needed the cash was doing her pieces because they had refused to take her blood after she had admitted on the form she had had hepatitis. She went straight off to another blood bank declaring that she was going to lie on the form. In China they have a massive problem due to illegal purchases of blood with improper screening which has caused an AIDS epidemic there.

Please don't introduce this disgusting nonsense to Thailand. If you want more flexible visa regulations to encourage more tourists, lobby the Immigration Bureau and ruling politicians to introduce more flexible visa regulations.

Edited October 23, 201213 yr by Arkady

in stead of the annoying 90 day report of your same address over and over, 90 day bloodletting or leave the country ?

i hope i never need blood transfusion... what if you got hiv/jabba/parasites infested blood ???

you think they really check for that overhere ?

I don't know about in Phuket, but Know they do check the blood in Chumphon where I give blood, the blood is put into test tubes in front of you with matching batch numbers on the blood bag and on each test tube.

Maybe not a good idea to confuse Blood Donation with a legal requirement.

I would hope that most ex-pats would be doing voluntary Blood Donations anyway. So, this is not an appropriate option.

As for 2 monthly intervals, , , The UK Blood Transfusion Service accept donations 3x a year.

6x a year sounds more like Transylvania ( q.v. Bram Stoker )

Visa rules the world over should be abolished. We should be free to travel and live wherever we like. I just don't see why we have to be denied the right to live in a particular place for no good reason. The super rich are allowed to live almost anywhere. But even those with enough money to live anywhere are denied the right.

I do see where you are coming from Dave, I don't know if you are from the UK.but so many emigrants are arriving there all the time because they are being given free houses etc That's definitely not right.

in stead of the annoying 90 day report of your same address over and over, 90 day bloodletting or leave the country ?

i hope i never need blood transfusion... what if you got hiv/jabba/parasites infested blood ???

you think they really check for that overhere ?

With the same 50/50 test, they doing it in the hospitals, in case you go for a check! False positive and false negative!

Any result, in 2hours, is only a 'high risk'-check test, not a real 'HIV-Viruses in the blood system' test.

In some countries, the use of these tests is only granted, to decide quickly, if the guy on the table need to be handled with cleaner gloves!

Or the testing for the pink card, in Patong. More a sugar test, prick in the fingertip, never a real HIV test!

But "I'm not sick, got tested today, everything fine, take tablets, no condom we need, you give moe money, chai mai?"

Edited October 23, 201213 yr by noob7

I used to be a blood donor as i believe it is good to change the oil more often, and the good it does others is what matters mostly.

Phuket Poll: Should foreigners 'pay' for visa runs with blood

How about temporary organ donors?

Edited October 28, 201213 yr by Payboy