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How much do certain hospitals charge for a unit of blood


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Don't understand your question.

So, you walk into a hospital: "Excuse me nurse, I'd like a unit of blood please."

"Certainly sir, would you like that in a straight glass?"

Surely blood is used for transfusions and if you were in need of one you'd expect to pay for it as part of your treatment? The hospital at the very least has to cover the costs of drawing and storing donated blood.

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Don't understand your question.

So, you walk into a hospital: "Excuse me nurse, I'd like a unit of blood please."

"Certainly sir, would you like that in a straight glass?"

Surely blood is used for transfusions and if you were in need of one you'd expect to pay for it as part of your treatment? The hospital at the very least has to cover the costs of drawing and storing donated blood.

The point being made if i'm not mistaken is that Bangkok Samui Hospital get blood donated to them by well meaning citizens and then go on to charge "utterly obscene" amounts of money for it to patients.

I hope that clears things up for you.

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I suspect that this thread will go round in circles.

Firstly - with one exception, the hospitals here are first and foremost - businesses. They happen to be businesses that provide medical care.

What is the point of having a business if it is not to make money? (I wish that my business made a bit more!)

The exception is the government hospital at Nathon. That is a hospital - funded by taxpayers and from generous donations from HM The King (and others).

I believe that blood donated at the public sessions is for Nathon Hospital. They may 'sell' it on to other hospitals should the need arise. If they make money on it - great. That money helps to support the hospital. (And yes - they do have the cost of collecting, storing, transporting the blood etc.)

If I can help to save a life or help to fund Nathon hospital by donating something that costs me nothing then I am more than happy to do so. I will not miss that half a litre of blood. My body will make some more very quickly.

If there is a major accident and the 'business' hospitals need blood in an emergency, then I am more than happy to donate to them. The life that I save may be my wife, a friend or just some stranger. It may even be your life that is saved. I do not care who it is and if said business makes money by selling my blood - I really do not give a monkey's fluck. In the scheme of things - it is nothing.

Giving blood is not about money. It is not about bitching about this or that over-priced hospital.

It is ONLY about saving a life.

If you choose to be penny pinching and not do it - fine. But please do not bitch about something that I give freely.

Ofcourse you are absolutely right and i think its important everyone makes an effort to give blood. And yes businesses are supposed to make money, but, and heres the very big but.....not the despicable profiteering by BKK Samui. There is no justification whatsoever for the prices they charge. Anyone defending their prices must be a shareholder or an imbecile..

anyway, as you say, this ones just going to go round in circles. No ones questions the good deed of giving blood its just a crying shame that a certain hospital totally abuses a charitable act.

Edited by carmine
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Don't understand your question.

So, you walk into a hospital: "Excuse me nurse, I'd like a unit of blood please."

"Certainly sir, would you like that in a straight glass?"

Surely blood is used for transfusions and if you were in need of one you'd expect to pay for it as part of your treatment? The hospital at the very least has to cover the costs of drawing and storing donated blood.

The point being made if i'm not mistaken is that Bangkok Samui Hospital get blood donated to them by well meaning citizens and then go on to charge "utterly obscene" amounts of money for it to patients.

I hope that clears things up for you.

There is no point being made in the OP, he is only asking how much they charge.

You are the one making the point and answering his question by labelling the charge as "utterly obscene" and doing that without telling the actual charge.

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Don't understand your question.

So, you walk into a hospital: "Excuse me nurse, I'd like a unit of blood please."

"Certainly sir, would you like that in a straight glass?"

Surely blood is used for transfusions and if you were in need of one you'd expect to pay for it as part of your treatment? The hospital at the very least has to cover the costs of drawing and storing donated blood.

The point being made if i'm not mistaken is that Bangkok Samui Hospital get blood donated to them by well meaning citizens and then go on to charge "utterly obscene" amounts of money for it to patients.

I hope that clears things up for you.

There is no point being made in the OP, he is only asking how much they charge.

You are the one making the point and answering his question by labelling the charge as "utterly obscene" and doing that without telling the actual charge.

I've had the misfortune to have been presented with one of their bills. I have every right to label their charges obscene. I have little or no interest whether you believe me or not, its your choice.

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Try a little harder - the OP is suggesting people shouldn't donate their blood because the hospitals then sell it on at a profit, not hard to understand and a reasonable point to make.

I was attempting to give the OP more credit...and yourself.

I believe you two are guilty of "biting off your nose to spite your face". ; )

Cheers

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I've had the misfortune to have been presented with one of their bills.

So have many of us but in order to understand if they overcharge for blood then one must also know their cost for a bag of blood.

The donor doesn't get paid but there is surely a cost for collecting, testing, and storing the blood, a cost that neither you nor I have the faintest idea about what it actually is.

Edited by lom
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I don't think that the person that requires X amount of units of blood is going to start to haggle over the price of it. If you use the BKK Samui hospital it is because you can afford to or you have insurance that covers the cost. others choose to use the Government hospital in nathon which is very good and a fraction of the price of the other private hospitals.

They also charge an extortionate price for their Oxygen which is very cheap to supply. It is called capitalism and without it we wouldn't be here biggrin.png

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I don't think that the person that requires X amount of units of blood is going to start to haggle over the price of it. If you use the BKK Samui hospital it is because you can afford to or you have insurance that covers the cost. others choose to use the Government hospital in nathon which is very good and a fraction of the price of the other private hospitals.

They also charge an extortionate price for their Oxygen which is very cheap to supply. It is called capitalism and without it we wouldn't be here biggrin.png

No its called legalized profiteering and it has no bearing in whether i am here or not.

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Just one small addendum to my original post -

Under current Thai legislation, all hospitals are obliged to give initial emergency treatment free of charge. I would presume that this would cover an emergency transfusion as well.

Not all people are covered by this law and I do not remember the 'small print'. Sorry.

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Most people seem to be missing the point the OP is making. If this is just a 'business', which most hospitals are here, they should also offer to buy the blood from donors, this is, after all how businesses are run - step one : buy a product, step 2 : sell product at a profit, it's not difficult to see the logic is it? People are also talking about having a choice for using the blood as a transfusion which is totally wrong. For example, tourist hires a motor bike, gets knocked off and is unconscious, gets picked up and taken to the private hospital, still unconscious joys and bleeding profusely and needs an emergency blood transfusion, a call is put out for blood of a certain type and donors freely give the donation, the tourist starts to recover and wakes up and then is presented the bill, including the cost of the freely donated blood, tourist doesn't have money or insurance to pay, then what? Most Hospitals here in Thailand are a disgrace, they have no compassion for the patients and no interest in doing anything other than making money.

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Go into any bar and buy a beer. depending on where that bar is it will cost you between 60 and 120 baht for a small beer. Go to any wholesalers and you can buy a case of beer that makes that beer around 17- 25 baht for thai beers and more for heineken etc. Legalised profiteering ?

People seem to forget that the bar owner has to pay rent for his bar, electric to keep the beer cold. Staff to serve you with your beer. The various licenses to allow him to serve you beer. The monthly fee for the TV package so his customers can watch the football and the free WiFi as well as a host of other things.

I only object to paying extortionate prices when I am given no choice whether to pay or not.

Some bars I am happy to pay the price others I refuse. The same goes with the hospitals.

I choose not to give BKK Samui any of my money as is my right. I also know several people who have been treated there and are more than happy to pay the bill as the service they received was world class.

I fail to see why people get upset ?

I think flying First class is the biggest rip off there is yet many people willingly pay the price.

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FYI, Bangkok hospital do not take any blood donations, you have to go to government hospital in Nathon or to a red cross drive.

If you have a rare blood type for Asia (A- or O-) please go and donate, it could be your own blood that saves your life.

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Who cares what hospitals charge for blood!!!NOT ME!!! 9 months ago i had a serious accident. I needed 3 blood transfusions ( BLOOD DONATED BY KIND HEARTED THAI PEOPLE) I am grateful to these people for saving my life.

When i needed blood the hospital asked my wife to find people to donate blood. 1 unit donated for each unit given to me. What a fantastic idea friends thai and farang gave blood, a big thank you from me.

No body asked how much they charged for blood just donated to help a friend in need.

God bless anybody who donates blood.

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Most people seem to be missing the point the OP is making. If this is just a 'business', which most hospitals are here, they should also offer to buy the blood from donors, this is, after all how businesses are run - step one : buy a product, step 2 : sell product at a profit, it's not difficult to see the logic is it? People are also talking about having a choice for using the blood as a transfusion which is totally wrong. For example, tourist hires a motor bike, gets knocked off and is unconscious, gets picked up and taken to the private hospital, still unconscious joys and bleeding profusely and needs an emergency blood transfusion, a call is put out for blood of a certain type and donors freely give the donation, the tourist starts to recover and wakes up and then is presented the bill, including the cost of the freely donated blood, tourist doesn't have money or insurance to pay, then what? Most Hospitals here in Thailand are a disgrace, they have no compassion for the patients and no interest in doing anything other than making money.

And whatever that added cost is will simply be passed onto the end user so what is accomplished?

They buy platelets in the US. The donation centers are full of street people--no kidding--must be about the worst group of alcoholics and druggies you can imagine all going to donate platelets to make a quick $20. They were going several times a week.

Cheers

Edited by ClutchClark
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Who cares what hospitals charge for blood!!!NOT ME!!! 9 months ago i had a serious accident. I needed 3 blood transfusions ( BLOOD DONATED BY KIND HEARTED THAI PEOPLE) I am grateful to these people for saving my life.

When i needed blood the hospital asked my wife to find people to donate blood. 1 unit donated for each unit given to me. What a fantastic idea friends thai and farang gave blood, a big thank you from me.

No body asked how much they charged for blood just donated to help a friend in need.

God bless anybody who donates blood.

I was going to donate blood but it was not accepted as I have a evil gene

So I went back home changed my genes and I was accepted

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

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Can I randomly buy blood if I pay

Could be useful for my new up and coming projects

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

Big C - you are incorrigible thumbsup.gif

I could maybe 'do you a deal' on some vintage O neg ?whistling.gif

Edited by Tropicalevo
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Aside from the initial outlay on capital expenditure for equipment the cost of producing a useable unit of blood is low....for platelets considerably higher.

I've no doubt Nathon charges for each unit delivered to the private hospitals....but have we any evidence they are charging huge sums for it?

Not that I have much hope they are not....

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