blood drive

The Belize Red Cross, San Pedro Branch (BRCSPB) held five blood drives during 2021, collecting 156 pints of the vital liquid. One of the drives collected blood from recovered COVID-19 patients to provide anti-bodies to those recovering from the virus. This was one method administered before vaccines against the virus were made available.

Originally scheduled for Saturday March 14th, the Belize Red Cross San Pedro Branch (BRCSPB) postponed their blood drive at the Polyclinic. The San Pedro Sun spoke to Phillip Ramsey, a representative of BRCSPB about the sudden postponement. He said that he received notification via email from the Blood Bank Unit in Belize City that the drive needed to be postponed, “due to the nature of the COVID-19 situation”. The email stated that they were making necessary arrangements to prepare for possible progression of COVID-19 and that they would follow up about rescheduling. The cancellation however, highlighted an issue affecting San Pedro: the lack of a blood bank. Residents have to rely on organized blood drives, instead of being able to go to a designated donation center at any time.

The Belize Red Cross, San Pedro Branch (BRCSPB) held their last blood drive of the year on Saturday, December 14th at the Dr. Otto Rodriguez San Pedro Polyclinic II.

Originally scheduled for March 2019, the event date was moved up in order to assist island resident Daryl Kennedy, who is in urgent need of blood as the country faces a drastic shortage.

An emergency blood drive to assist the countrywide blood shortage and island resident Daryl Kennedy has been scheduled for Sunday, January 20th at the Dr. Otto Rodriguez San Pedro Polyclinic II in San Pedro Town from 9AM to 3PM.

The drive took place at the Dr. Otto Rodriguez San Pedro Polyclinic II, where nine pints of blood were collected.

While there were many willing blood donors, not everyone qualified as some tested positive for allergies and other medications. After careful screening, only 5 could donate.

Nine pints of blood were collected on Saturday, May 12th following a blood drive held by the Belize Red Cross, San Pedro Branch.