I’ve had three messages in my Facebook Inbox so far, because of different groups I belong to. There’s a young lady named Amber in Busan who needs help, pronto, in the form of 0 Negative blood.
There’s more info here, at the Busan Facebook group.
She’s in Paik Hospital near GAEGUM. If you’re in the neighborhood, and can help, get on out there.
The e-mails:
Message 1:
There is a young foreigner in Busan named Amber (23) who needs O negative blood. (ONLY 1 in 15 people have this type)
FAST.
I realise you all are busy but this girl will DIE without blood.
What you need to do:
1. Go to the hospital (directions below) anytime from Monday morning.
Go to the 3rd floor to the blood bank and get tested. Even if you have the same blood type you will still have to have a test to check platlets. Then once all is well you will have to return to donate the blood.2. if you have a blood bank near you go there and tell them about Amber and which hospital she is in they will phone and confirm and then you can donate. (hospital number: 0518906114)
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IT IS IMPORTANT TO ASK TO HAVE THE BLOOD SEPARATED as it is the platlets she needs.
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DIRECTIONS:
——————————-http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6753545959
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1 WHAT TO DO IF YOU DON’T KNOW YOUR BLOOD TYPE.
—————————————————————–IF YOU DON’T KNOW YOUR BLOOD TYPE GO TO THE HOSPITAL BELOW AND GET IT TESTED ! IT IS TWO STOPS FROM SEOMYEON
SHE REALLY NEEDS IT.
Or call your mum OR call your doctor back home and find out.2 WHAT TO DO IF YOU HAVE THE WRONG BLOOD TYPE
—————————————————————–tell your friends copy and paste this to as many people as you can – please.
please keep an eye on this page as we will be collecting cash to help pay for her bills – any amount will help, we know you are all saving – just skip a beer or two one night and use that money instead.
AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE INFO BELOW
1 in 15 people have O- blood there’s about 390 people on this site so ONLY 26 of you will have it – it’s not that common – which is a BIGGER REASON YOU SHOULD GO IF YOU HAVE IT – and that u should find out what u are if you don’t know.
Below is a recent message from Erin Kerr in Busan.
“I would first like to thank everyone for their fast response to this situation.
It has not been confirmed that Amber is suffering from viral encephalitis, the doctors are still running tests. At the present time, she is conscious and seems to be aware of what is going on.
The fact is she still needs blood. 4 people showed up to the hospital today, but only one was able to help. That brings us up to a total of only 3 donors. Korean law states you have to be in the country for over a year to donate blood. The hospital where Amber is able to help, so that is the place to go.
As Emma’s message stated before, the first step in the process is to go to Inje University Pusan Paik Hospital or your local clinic to have your blood tested. If it is a match, then you can head to the hospital to donate.
We are still waiting on word of how to deal with blood donors outside Busan. I will post that information as soon as possible. If you are certain you have O- blood and are living outside Busan, please go to a clinic and have your blood checked to see if it’s a match. We are still not sure where to take it from there, but we will soon find out.
If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to call me or Greg (general manager of our schools).
Erin: 01058444836
Greg: 01039893933We really appreciate the outpouring of concern for this poor girl. I will keep you posted on her progress. Thanks everyone.”
14/10/2008 at 1:22 am Permalink
More importantly, the rh negative bloodtype is incredibly rare in Korea.
I’m headed to the local bloodbank in the morning to see if they’ll take mine. I would also recommend that other people with O- blood see if they can bank some of their own blood in case of emergency. It is very unlikely that we can find Korean blood donors to match, which leaves us more reliant than most on the international community here.
14/10/2008 at 1:24 pm Permalink
Nuts! Back home I have one of the most common blood type around and here I will be reduced to hoping if I ever need blood? This is scary. If I lived in Busan I would gladly give some of my “common blood”.
Knowing this I think I might have to go search out a blood bank and offer my apparently scare blood for the Gyeonggi area (although with Seoul might have a bit more than other places already)
14/10/2008 at 2:44 pm Permalink
Blood banks are remarkably easy to find in Seoul, and often have volunteers on the street outside soliciting donations. The more pertinent question is if they’ll take your blood; I’m not 100% clear on the regulations, but it appears you must have lived in Korea a year or more, and some blood banks (at least when dealing with foreigners according to anecdotal evidence) have interpreted this extremely literally, so any venture outside the ROK for any duration of time during the past year will disqualify you from donation. If you’ve vacationed for a week in Thailand or made an overnight visa run in Fukuoka, there’s a chance you may be rejected as a donor. Of course there are plenty of other reasons an individual may be not be allowed to donate, but again, it seems possible that Korean blood banks are more resistant to accepting donations from foreigners than from natives.
Re: donations to the young lady in Busan, unless forthcoming information has more on having blood sent down to South, those of us in Seoul are probably better off donating funds than blood unless you can go down in person and donate at the hospital. In the meantime, those of us with rh neg bloodtypes should see about banking some of our own blood, and keep a list of friends and coworkers who are potential donors. I’ll try and get some more info on the exact requirements for regular donations in Korea, as well as how to bank your own blood, and post back here soon.
14/10/2008 at 3:57 pm Permalink
When I was here in the 90′s, ajummas from the Red Cross were always trying to get me to donate blood. Always. Seems that foreigners were apparently more receptive, since Koreans at the time just didn’t want to do it.
Now, they certainly don’t want foreigners giving blood. The lady in Shinchon who is always out there averts her eyes when she sees me, since I asked once if she wanted any of my blood, and she just smiled that “embarrassed” Korean smile and made it clear she didn’t.
I’d like to hear if anyone else has had a different experience, or has successfully given blood. Just curious, and it’d be all that much more information to add to everyone’s data bank.