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Saint-Barthélemy has not held a blood drive for eleven years. For a variety of reasons, most often material or economic. A long wait, which was reflected on Friday December 6 and Saturday December 7 in the large hall at the harbor master's office in Gustavia. Over the course of an afternoon and a morning, the Etablissement Français du Sang (EFS) and the Lions Club of Saint-Barthélemy had finally succeeded in mobilizing all their energies to set up a blood donation operation.
Not surprisingly, many people turned up at the harbour master's office to donate some of their red blood cells, platelets and plasma. But the organizers didn't expect so many people to come through the doors of the meeting room transformed into a collection point. "It was non-stop all day Friday," said Christian Hardelay of the Lions Club. In fact, between the two days of collection, no fewer than 215 blood bags were validated before being shipped to Guadeloupe on an Air Antilles flight. This figure does not include the number of non-admissible bags, nor the number of donors who, to their great disappointment, were unable to take part after being interviewed by one of the two EFS doctors present. "I had a tattoo done less than a month ago, so I can't give blood," smiles 28-year-old Mathilde, who was nevertheless motivated when she arrived. I think it's important to take part because it can save lives," she said at the time. On the islands, there's little equipment and few resources, so if we can help, we must. "Sitting a little further back in the queue, Brigitte agrees: "It's important to do it for others. I've always given blood when I could. "Her neighbor Viviane bounces back: "Me too. Because tomorrow, we don't know it, but we may need it. "But to show altruism, you first had to be patient.
The patience of the convinced
Indeed, for some, it took more than two hours before they could even take their place in one of the eight armchairs set up in the room for the collection. Given the crowds, the two doctors and nine staff involved in the operation couldn't go any faster than the blood test required. It's been eleven years since we've had a blood drive," comments Olivier philosophically. I'm glad it's starting up again and that people are getting involved. "Rony agrees: "It's something the hospitals need, and we'd like to be able to donate more frequently. "
To carry out the blood drive, the EFS and the Lions Club transported 800 kilos of equipment to Saint-Barthélemy. Everything was repacked and shipped back on Sunday evening. With the satisfaction of a job well done, and already the determination to organize another operation of the same kind, which would not have been possible without the support of numerous partners, from companies to the local authorities.
