- Publika iha: 03 Dezembro 2024
The family of patient Luís do Carmo, from the Municipality of Lautem, who is undergoing treatment at Eduardo Ximenes Regional Hospital (HOREX) in Baucau, said that while the hospital provides good services, blood for patients remains a significant challenge because the hospital does not have a blood bank.
"My wife recently gave birth, but there was no blood available because the hospital lacks a blood bank. So, there is no stock of blood, and there isn't a proper facility to store it. As a result, our family had to find donors ourselves, draw blood, and immediately use it for my wife. We couldn’t store any blood for future use," he said.
He urged the government, through the Ministry of Health, to establish a blood bank at HOREX in Baucau so that blood can be collected and stored for patients in need.
Meanwhile, patient Teresa António Marçal said that while the services at HOREX Hospital are good, the Ministry of Health must set up a blood bank to store blood collected from donors and the families of patients to assist those in need, especially women after giving birth.
"The lack of a blood bank significantly impacts postpartum women because, during childbirth, they often lose a lot of blood and need an immediate transfusion. In some cases, the baby dies in the womb, leading to heavy blood loss, and without blood stocks, it can result in loss of life," she said.
Currently, Eduardo Ximenes Regional Hospital (HOREX) in Baucau does not have a blood bank to store blood, including blood donations from volunteers and relatives of patients.
Regarding this matter, the Executive Director of HOREX Hospital in Baucau, Claudino Ximenes, said that the hospital now has a plan and has prepared a design proposal for the Ministry of Health to allocate a budget for the establishment of a blood bank in Baucau.
"The Ministry of Health has supported the design preparation, and we have submitted the budget. We are waiting for its approval. Once approved, it will be implemented, and by 2025, the government is expected to allocate funds to make it operational," he explained to journalists at HOREX Baucau.
He added that while HOREX Hospital has sufficient technical personnel to draw blood, it lacks the facilities to store it.
"We have the technicians to draw blood, but there is no storage facility. As a result, the available blood is only enough for short-term use, such as a week or a month, depending entirely on patient families, as we do not have a routine blood donation program for the hospital," he added.
He also said that when a patient urgently needs blood, the hospital and the patient’s family must try to find blood donors quickly.
"When the patient’s family informs us that blood is needed, we work together to find donors. If the family secures donors, they bring the blood to the hospital. If they cannot, we coordinate with hospital management to contact relevant institutions, such as schools, religious organizations, PNTL (National Police of Timor-Leste), and F-FDTL (Timor-Leste Defence Forces), to request blood donations to save the patient’s life.
This often happens, especially with postpartum women who lose large amounts of blood. If we fail to get blood, we immediately transfer the patient to the National Hospital Guido Valadares (HNGV) [in the capital Dili] for urgent treatment," he explained.