Coronado Blood Donor Drive

It’s that time again, roll up your sleeves and save a life by attending the Coronado Blood Donor Clinic this month! On February 17th from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. Panama Hospice and Respite foundation (PHRF) & the National Hospital will be in Coronado accepting blood donations.

There is a severe blood shortage in Panama, with less than 5% of healthy adults donating. If you are a resident of Panama, who has not traveled in the past month (except USA & Canada) and are in good health...you can help!

Make an appointment for the Feb. 17 Coronado Blood Clinic calling Helen Pierson at 6153-9647 or email  helenpierson1@gmail.com You can also call Helen if you have questions about the Coronado clinics. If you have questions about the Blood Bank contact Karen Barnett at 6677-6403.

Learn more about PHRF - www.panamahospiceandrespite.org

Here is the full requirements for donating blood in Panama -

    •    Age - You must be between the ages of 18 and 65 although you may be 17 with parental permission. In special circumstances including additional testing and authorized approval from the supervising physician, a healthy person 65 and over may be able to donate.
    •    You must be a resident of Panama, and have been present in the country a minimum of 1 month if having been in the US or Canada, 6 months for most other countries.
    •    You must bring with you proof of identity in the form of a photo ID : resident card, driving license or passport.
    •    Who can or cannot donate blood:
    •    * Must weigh at least 110 lbs (50k)
* Sickle Cell Trait people can donate
* Women having their menstrual period and/or taking birth control can donate
* If tattooed, all tattoos must be more than six months old and well healed
* Nursing, or potentially pregnant women cannot donate
    •    No aspirin intake for 24 hours before donating.
    •    No alcohol the day of donation. Eat before you donate, but no fatty foods please.
    •    Men can give blood every three months, women every four.
    •    You must be infection free for the last 10 days. A history of the following infectious disease will also disqualify you: TB, Malaria, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, HIV/AIDS, Chagas Disease and Yellow fever. CMV and Mononucleosis will not disqualify you if the disease is not recent.
    •    You must have normal blood pressure. You can be on blood pressure medication as long as your BP is normal when you are screened at donation time. If your BP drops during the collection process you will not be accepted for further donations.