Giving Blood in Africa

I have now donated blood twice in my life... both times being in Africa. I guess not many people can say that! :) On Wednesday morning while doing rounds I saw a little boy on the peds ward with malaria and anemia. His hematocrit was 10% (low) and there was no one to donate for him. A couple of his family members had been tested and their blood type did not match. I found out he was 0+, so I donated 140 ml of my blood to him. The actual process of giving blood here is not fun and I couldn't look at the blood flowing out of me and got a little dizzy afterwards (mostly because I hadn't eaten breakfast yet!). But despite the minor pain, the feeling of knowing you're giving a little of yourself to save someone's life is incredible! Malaria is said to kill a million people worldwide each year and is the third deadliest infectious disease in the world. Many kids don't have access to hospitals like BMC to get the medicine and treatment. They die from anemia because there is no one to donate blood and no hospital to carry out the transfusion. This is not 200 years ago... this is today, in 2009, that close to one million kids die from malaria. The statistic is startling but what's even more heartbreaking is to look into their faces, to witness this sickness and see what it does. But what is thrilling is to see the miracle of medicine, of blood and how these precious children can be cured! As my time here in Ghana is ending, I know that there is part of me that I will leave here. I have given my blood, my talent and my love to the people of Northern Ghana and I, in return, have experienced God's joy and blessing that has forever changed me.

Seeing the boy in peds that was severely anemic
Taking my donated blood back to the little boy in the ward