The blood drive

I did quite a few blood transfusions as an emergency nurse in Grand Rapids, but never without some anxiety. With as many precautions that are taken to insure that the blood transfusion will be successful, there are always some risks involved, even if they are rare. I never imagined that I would be doing a blood transfusion working as a nurse in a clinic in Catacamas. I actually don't think that it was ever on the minds of the other staff here either. However, God brings us opportunities to make a difference in ways that we could never imagine and gives us the tools to carry it out.
Angel is a 42 year old man who suffers from Sickle Cell Anemia. It is a difficult disease to deal with in the United States, but in Honduras, it is impossible. Angel's average hemoglobin is 7 which would've gotten me very nervous in the US, but makes me happy to see when looking at Angel's levels. A few months ago, Angel came into the clinic with a hemoglobin of 6. He told us that he had been to the hospital, but hardly made it through the door before being discharged. Angel does not have the money for a blood transfusion nor does he know anyone who would be willing to donate blood for him. It is routine for Angel to be rejected from the hospital.

On this day, however, God was working in the hearts of the staff at El Buen Pastor and the idea, at first, was to find a donor for Angel. As the talk continued, however, we realized that we had all the tools necessary to do the blood transfusion right at the clinic. A lab specialist, Carmen, had just been hired who could help with all the preparations and between one of the doctors and myself, we could perform both the donation and the transfusion for Angel.

On the day of the transfusion, we were all both excited and apprehensive about the procedure. We tested Angel's blood and realized that he is AB+ which means that he can receive blood from any blood type - it's incredible sometimes how God provides for His children - and we didn't have to look hard for a donor. Many of the workers at the clinic stepped up and offered to donate. One of the doctors at the clinic became the donor for Angel. He donated his blood between seeing patients and then the real work began. We needed to get this blood into Angel and hope that none of the many risks that are involved would affect him. In the ER in the United States, the precautions for doing a transfusion involve checking a patient's vital signs every 15 minutes. With Angel, I was checking his vital signs ever 5 minutes due my anxiety, which was always part of performing this procedure, but doubled in this case. The other obstacle that we faced was the blood clotting while it was being transfused. This is usually not an issue in the US because the blood is treated before transfusion. We, however, did not have this luxury and were, therefore, fighting against the blood clotting during the entire procedure. In spite of all this, a few hours after starting, A ngel had his first successful blood transfusion in more than 2 years. It was one of the most amazing days that I have spent at the clinic so far. To be able to make such a difference in someone's life. Angel had gotten so used to being ignored by the medical community and then saw an entire clinic staff surrounding him and giving him a gift that no one else wanted to offer him. What a testimony to God's love and generosity. It is not easy to work at the clinic. Every day there are more and more patients and very few resources. It can become tiring and difficult to continue at times...but moments like these lift our spirits and remind us that God gives strength to those who do not give up.
Galatians 6: 9-10 - "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people...".