Red Cross Ships Blood to Haiti

WASHINGTON, Aug. 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Red Cross last week sent an emergency shipment of blood to Haiti to help alleviate the temporary blood shortage in hospitals in that country's capital.  

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The 150 units of blood, which arrived earlier last week in Port-au-Prince, have been distributed to two hospitals in the area through the Haitian National Program of Safety of Blood Transfusion.  The Red Cross has provided more than 1,800 units of blood to Haiti since the January earthquake which devastated the country.

"Since the January 12 earthquake, the American Red Cross has launched a variety of relief and recovery programs in Haiti," said David Meltzer, senior vice president for International Services at the Red Cross. "Sending blood is just one way we are meeting the changing needs of the Haitian people."

Gheskio Hospital received 50 units of blood.  Gheskio is the national public health lab in Delmas, Port-au-Prince.  The remaining blood was delivered to the University Hospital in Port-au-Prince. Since the earthquake, both facilities have been functioning as blood distribution centers for hospitals elsewhere in the city.  

Among additional recipients of the blood will be Project Medishare, which is running a trauma center in the Haitian capital.  "These units will be vital to helping save lives in Haiti," said Dr. Barth Green, a co-founder of Project Medishare.  "Even now, more than six months after the quake, there is a very high demand for blood.  We are extremely grateful to the American Red Cross for helping us meet this need."

The American Red Cross will continue to work with the Pan American Health Organization and the Haitian Ministry of Health to identify future blood needs.

You can help people affected by disasters like floods, fires, tornadoes and hurricanes, as well as countless crises at home and around the world, by making a donation to support American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for and provide shelter, food, emotional support and other assistance in response to disasters. Visit www.redcross.org or call 1-800-RED-CROSS. Contributions may also be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013.

About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies nearly half of the nation's blood; teaches lifesaving skills; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization — not a government agency — and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit www.redcross.org or join our blog at http://blog.redcross.org.

SOURCE American Red Cross