Last Friday I did one of the most rewarding things of my nursing career to date that perhaps directly saved a life...I donated blood to my patient. Returning empty handed from yet another trip to the hospital lab trying to acquire blood for transfusion for our patients, I felt compelled to help. Blood supplies are always in short supply in Gulu. Many patients here suffer with anaemia as a complication of malaria, and secondary to HIV anti retroviral medications. And when I say anaemia – I mean seriously low blood iron level. To any non-medical folk, a normal haemoglobin (HB) level is over 12.0, with UK patients receiving a blood transfusion at 8.0 or under. In Northern Uganda, patients are not transfused until they have a haemoglobin level of 5 or under – and it’s not uncommon to see levels at two or three!
My patient needed blood type A negative - a rare commodity at the best of times let alone from a blood bank with almost vacant supplies. Being a blood donor back in the UK, I was keen to offer a unit of my best claret to help my patient who was admitted with a HB of 4. Calling on my trusted side-kick Debbie, our interrogation of the Blood Bank staff began with us thoroughly investigating the Ugandan process of blood donation, and rigorously examining the blood collection equipment and ensuring the needles were indeed SINGLE USE! Assured by our findings we both decided to go ahead and donate! Before we knew it we had both donated 450ml of British blood to add to the dwindling supplies at the hospital. And just like home, the reward for your contribution...a sugary drink and biscuits – complete with smiley faces none the less!
We returned to the hospital ward with a standing ovation and a round of applause from our colleagues! And two hours later, after my blood had been screened and prepared, I was connecting it to my patient! Such a surreal feeling to know that it really could make a difference to the ultimate outcome of my patient! His family became so excited that they whipped out a camera and began snapping away as I went about connecting my bag of donated blood to the drip port cited in the arm of their relative. I was completely taken aback by this as I’ve never before seen a Ugandan with a camera!
And Im pleased to report that by today the patient was looking much better and has greatly improved. For once a success story where I feel incredibly proud to have played a significant role! Now we are keeping our eyes peeled to see if we are able to identify, by donor number, the recipient of Debbie’s kind contribution.
As the nurse in the blood bank said to us post donation “thank you for helping to save lives!”
My patient needed blood type A negative - a rare commodity at the best of times let alone from a blood bank with almost vacant supplies. Being a blood donor back in the UK, I was keen to offer a unit of my best claret to help my patient who was admitted with a HB of 4. Calling on my trusted side-kick Debbie, our interrogation of the Blood Bank staff began with us thoroughly investigating the Ugandan process of blood donation, and rigorously examining the blood collection equipment and ensuring the needles were indeed SINGLE USE! Assured by our findings we both decided to go ahead and donate! Before we knew it we had both donated 450ml of British blood to add to the dwindling supplies at the hospital. And just like home, the reward for your contribution...a sugary drink and biscuits – complete with smiley faces none the less!
We returned to the hospital ward with a standing ovation and a round of applause from our colleagues! And two hours later, after my blood had been screened and prepared, I was connecting it to my patient! Such a surreal feeling to know that it really could make a difference to the ultimate outcome of my patient! His family became so excited that they whipped out a camera and began snapping away as I went about connecting my bag of donated blood to the drip port cited in the arm of their relative. I was completely taken aback by this as I’ve never before seen a Ugandan with a camera!
And Im pleased to report that by today the patient was looking much better and has greatly improved. For once a success story where I feel incredibly proud to have played a significant role! Now we are keeping our eyes peeled to see if we are able to identify, by donor number, the recipient of Debbie’s kind contribution.
As the nurse in the blood bank said to us post donation “thank you for helping to save lives!”
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