HAGÃ
TÃ'A â"Â Â Guam Memorial Hospital officials acknowledged that the hospitalâs blood bank inventory was âbelow normal levelsâ but stopped short of calling the reduced inventory a âshortageâ of blood.
âWe were at a level lower than usual. But were we short of blood? No. We were not short of blood. We had blood for every patient that needed blood,â Perez said. âIs it at a level thatâs risky â"no. We donât want to be anywhere near that level. What that level is, what that number is I donât know because (laboratory personnel) donât want to give that (number.)â
Perez said she was awaiting information from the hospital lab personnel regarding how many units of blood GMH had in its inventory. She was notified on Monday night that about 100 units of blood were delivered to the hospital.
GMH has a standing order for about 100 units of blood to be shipped from the mainland every week, but the units of blood in the inventory changes, Perez said. If the hospital needs blood and is awaiting shipment, she said GMH looks to Naval Hospital Guam for help with blood units.
Last weekâs low inventory levels were attributed to an increased number of patients who needed blood, Perez said. âIn the past few days we were at a level below what we normally like it to be and itâs because of these stabbing incidents that we have,â she said. âWeâve had a lot of serious trauma cases that require a lot more blood than we normally use. Itâs since been corrected.â
Blood inventory fluctuates daily, Perez said. When GMH gets trauma patients, car accident patients, pregnant women, people who tend to bleed a lot, Perez said those patients can go through 12 to 20 units a day.
The hospital blood inventory has about a monthâs shelf life, Perez also said, and the hospital tries to manage its inventory so as not to have too much on hand when itâs not needed because unused blood stored past its shelf life is discarded.
As for last weekâs reduced inventory, Perez said, âThese shortages are far and few in between. These shortages are rare.â
The lab is looking to start a local blood bank for the hospitalâs blood needs. There was a blood drive done on island before but Perez said that was a service that stopped and GMH is looking to reestablish that resource.
She said in the past more money was spent on testing the donated blood compared to money spent on importing blood from the mainland.
Perez said the hospital is reassessing levels of supplies and equipment since the hospital is beginning to see an increase in patients. She said the hospital is under major stressors and financial constraints and the blood inventory is back at its normal levels.
Title :
Guam hospital gets blood, seeks other blood options
Description : HAGÃ
TÃ'A â"Â Â Guam Memorial Hospital officials acknowledged that the hospitalâs blood bank inventory was âbelow ...
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