Family members from
Colorado, Minnesota and Wisconsin join
the
“walking blood bank” onboard
the hospital ship Africa Mercy
“Every
blood
donor is a hero” is the theme for the 2012 World Blood Donor Day on June
14.
The humanitarian organization Mercy Ships is taking the day to celebrate
the
heroic role that numerous blood donors play onboard its hospital ship,
the
Africa Mercy, which is currently docked in the West African port city of
Lomé,
Togo.
 |
| Pat, Michael and Ben Digmann |
Mercy Ships
provides free surgical, medical and dental care to developing West
African
nations, along with health and medical training and infrastructure
development.
Its flagship, the Africa Mercy, is equipped with a state-of-the-art
hospital
featuring six operating theaters, recovery wards with 78 beds, a CT
scanner, an
X-ray machine and a laboratory. The ship is staffed by a crew of more
than 400
volunteers from over 35 nations, who pay for their own room and board
while
serving on the Africa Mercy.
Due
to space
limitations, the ship’s hospital does not maintain a traditional blood
bank.
Instead, it relies on a “walking blood bank” of pre-screened volunteer
donors
who are prepared to donate precisely when needed. Since the beginning of
the
year, more than 200 members of the ship’s all-volunteer crew have signed
up for
the added commitment to donate their blood to Mercy Ships patients.
Medical
Lab
Scientist Ben Digmann of Rochester, MN, has donated blood during his
current
service onboard the Africa Mercy and during his earlier service with
Mercy
Ships in 2010. Ben is a Laboratory Technologist with the Mayo Clinic
Department
of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology in Rochester, MN. His blood type,
B+, is
in high demand onboard the ship, since it is a common blood type in
Africa.
Four-year-old
Ellen received Digmann’s donated blood when she underwent facial surgery
to
remove a tumor on the occipital bone.
“My
coworkers
in the lab cross-matched me with the patient, as I was the next on
the list of our screened donors of that blood type,” says Ben. “Halfway
through
my lunch break, my coworker Chris Webb found me to tell me that the OR
called
for a unit of blood. When the OR calls for blood, that’s an immediate
need that can’t wait. I got up, gave my half-finished plate to the
galley staff so they could wrap it in plastic for me to finish later,
and went
down to donate.”
Ben’s father
Michael and his brother Pat also became blood donors when they recently
arrived
onboard the Africa Mercy. The two Digmanns were part of a volunteer
Mercy Team
that completed 10 days of service modifying storage shelves onboard the
ship
and installing windows in a local church. Michael, who lives in West
Bend, WI,
and Pat, who lives in Boulder, CO, volunteered to be screened for blood
donation. Both men are experienced blood donors, and, like Ben, they
have the
B+ blood type that is frequently in demand.
When
Michael
and Pat went to the ward to donate their blood, the other members of
their
Mercy Team went with them. “The donation process aboard the Africa Mercy
was
unlike anything I’ve ever experienced,” says Pat. “It was a party! The
team was
busy enjoying themselves and providing entertainment during the whole
event.”
Michael’s
donation was assigned to a patient named Lina, who needed maxillofacial
surgery. Due to blood loss during the surgery, Pat’s unit of donated
blood was
also used.
“I have done over 60
donations in the U.S.,
and this was by far the best,” says Michael. “I was able to see my unit
of
blood hanging in the operating room, going into the patient. My son
Patrick was
able to carry his unit into the O.R. and see it being put to use for the
same
patient. So my blood, combined with my son's blood, has saved the life
of
someone in Africa. This is truly amazing. But what is even more amazing
is that
this type of thing happens all the time on the Africa Mercy.”
For
lab
technician Ben, the greatest difference between a traditional blood bank
and
Mercy Ship’s walking blood bank is the personal connection of the donors
onboard the Africa Mercy.
“The
blood
bank here is a community with a common cause,” he says. “If we don’t
have
enough blood donors to keep surgeries going, all it takes is one
announcement
over the intercom, and the lab becomes flooded with willing donors. That
sense
of community extends to the relationships between the crew and the
patients.
People here are willing to donate because they see the people who need
the
blood, and they talk to them, and they become friends. Of course you
would give
your blood to a friend.”
ABOUT WORLD BLOOD DONOR
DAY
On 14 June, countries
worldwide
celebrate World Blood Donor Day with events to raise awareness of the
need for
safe blood and blood products, and to thank voluntary unpaid blood
donors for
their life-saving gifts of blood. The
theme of the 2012 World Blood Donor Day campaign, “Every blood donor is a
hero”
focuses on the idea that every one of us can become a hero by giving
blood.
While recognizing the silent and unsung heroes who save lives every day
through
their blood donations, the theme also strongly encourages more people
all over
the world to donate blood voluntarily and regularly.
