World Blood Donor Day
Mercy Ships Volunteers Donate in Real Time to Save Lives
The patient’s blood was A+, and she was going to need a lot more of it. Mercy Ships volunteer anesthesiologist Dr. Brian Barki and his team knew this for certain.
As they gathered for a morning huddle on board the Global Mercy®, docked in Dakar, Senegal, they began to make a contingency plan. Dr. Barki was joined by another anesthesiologist, three nurses, and three surgeons, all for one complex procedure.
They knew as they removed the woman’s facial tumor, she could lose a significant amount of blood. They planned to give her two units of blood they had at the ready, and then call for more.
But they wouldn’t get it from a fridge. They’d get it from friends, colleagues, and strangers, who would all donate in real time to save this woman’s life.
A Floating Blood Bank
In a traditional medical setting, donors can be recruited ahead of time at blood drives, and their life-saving gifts can be sealed in bags and stored for later use. A Mercy Ships hospital, cut off from resources back home, is different. It must rely on the people who staff it.
Volunteer crew members sign up to be donors and get their blood tested. They can then be called upon day or night to give blood to patients in need.
“It is very strange giving blood one day, then taking care of the patient who received it the next,” said Danita Gilbert, a volunteer nurse from Peterborough, Ontario. “The patient never knew about it. I knew, though, that I was not just caring for this person, but had had a much more direct impact on their outcome.”
It’s not just medical staff who have that direct impact. Every single volunteer on board has the opportunity to donate.
“Everyone contributes to the moment a patient sees themselves once their bandages are removed,” Danita said.
Life-Saving Delivery
It was Dr. Joe Park’s first week on board the Africa Mercy®. An anesthesiologist from New York City, he was in a new setting with new coworkers – and he had a patient who needed a liter of blood.
“We notified the blood bank that this was the case, and they said, ‘Sure, no problem,’” Dr. Park remembered. Not long after, there was a knock at the door. The lab director arrived with a bag of blood.
“I held it, and it was still warm,” Dr. Park said. “I told her, ‘Thank you so much, where did you get this from?’ And she said, ‘It’s mine.’” Dr. Park thought she was joking.
“Then I looked at her arm, and she still had the bandage from the donation,” he said. “It was incredible.”
For Dr. Park, it was just one of the moments he realized that every single person on board has an impact that is “felt in real time.”
“Everyone works together in this beautiful way,” he said
'Generosity Kept This Woman Alive’
As Dr. Brian Barki recalls that facial tumor removal on the Global Mercy, he remembers witnessing that same teamwork in motion.
“From the first incision, our lady began to bleed significantly,” he said. Early on, they used one unit of A+ blood they had prepared. Soon after, they used the second.
“At that point, (our senior lab technologist) had already started calling other people to donate,” Dr. Barki said. “After that, things kind of became a blur. We kept losing more and more blood in surgery.”
The lab was short-handed, so Dr. Barki began helping to draw blood. The next donor showed up cheerfully after working a full week of night shifts. They still needed more.
Dr. Barki went to another OR to check in with an anesthesiology resident.
“I was updating him on our situation, and he said, ‘Hey, my blood type is A+,’” Dr. Barki said. “I told him we could really use his blood and that he should go donate. Away he went.” The surgeon in that OR chimed in. He was A+, too. Dr. Barki asked him to go to the lab when he finished his surgery.
“By the end of the day, we lost about 5.5 liters of blood,” Dr. Barki said. “That’s more than all the blood in this woman’s body.”
To replenish it, she received donations from seven different crew members. “Their generosity kept this woman alive,” Dr. Barki said.
By 8:30 p.m., the patient was recovering in the ICU, her tumor was gone, and her breathing tube had been removed.
The donations of the crew make a dramatic impact on people like her. But they also make an impact on fellow volunteers like Dr. Barki and Dr. Park.
“Knowing that all these people came together for this singular mission,” Dr. Park said, “spending time with patients and spending time with their families, you realize that we’re all the same.”
Other Blog Posts
Mercy Ships Welcomes Presidential Visit on board, in Toamasina Harbor
Presidential Visit: Malagasy president His Excellency Andry Nirina Rajoelina visited patients and volunteers on board Mercy Ships’ hospital vessel to see for himself the lives being transformed.
Day of the Seafarer: One Maritime Volunteer’s Story
On this Day of the Seafarer, Mercy Ships wants to honor all the people like Ishaka, volunteer assistant bosun on board the Global Mercy.
An Electrician’s Journey to Finding Purpose and Professional Growth
When Jean Jacques Diouf came on board for the 1st time, he’d packed his suitcase with enough supplies for one week. Learn more about his professional growth!
THE MSC FOUNDATION, THE MSC GROUP AND MERCY SHIPS INTERNATIONAL JOIN FORCES TO BUILD A NEW HOSPITAL SHIP
The new purpose-built hospital ship will expand the impact of Mercy Ships’ life-changing surgeries, anaesthetic care and surgical education for future generations of patients and healthcare professionals in sub-Saharan Africa.
Share
Madagascar Welcomes Mercy Ships for Next Field Service in 2024
Following a series of recent meetings between the Ministry of Health and Mercy Ships, the Africa Mercy has officially been welcomed to return to Madagascar for her next field service. The hospital ship is planned to initially dock in the port of Toamasina in February 2024.
Day of the Seafarer: One Maritime Volunteer’s Story
On this Day of the Seafarer, Mercy Ships wants to honor all the people like Ishaka, volunteer assistant bosun on board the Global Mercy.
How the Mercy Ships National Crew Took on the COVID-19 Pandemic in Senegal
On a hospital ship when the pandemic hit, a member of Mercy Ships National Crew was inspired to continue humanitarian work in Senegal.
Face-to-Face after Decades: Catherine and Aly Reunite on the Global Mercy
The last time Catherine Conteh saw the deeply familiar smile in front of her in Freetown, it was under dramatically different circumstances. Learn more about Aly’s act of kindness!
Mercy Ships Welcomes Presidential Visit on board, in Toamasina Harbor
Presidential Visit: Malagasy president His Excellency Andry Nirina Rajoelina visited patients and volunteers on board Mercy Ships’ hospital vessel to see for himself the lives being transformed.
Creating New Connections: Mercy Ships Canada and the Francophone Nursing Community
Find out how Mercy Ships Canada is getting involved with the French speaking nursing community.