(9/9/2011)
The Bali Red Cross (PMI) Blood Center at Bali Sanglah Hospital is in urgent need of a plasmapheresis machine capable of separating plasma from whole blood.
Plasma drawn from live donors can be stored for up to one year, while whole blood has a shelf life of only one month. Plasma is also an essential source of thrombocytes, which are a life-saving element always in short supply in Bali’s perennial battle against dengue fever.
A plasmapheresis machine can separate 300 cubic centimeters of blood platelets or thrombocytes from a single donor while manual means are more painstaking, requiring 10 donors to produce an equivalent amount.
The cost of a new machine is estimated at Rp. 1.3 billion (US$151,727) – an amount that has not been funded by provincial sources, despite pleas from the PMI.
The Bali Blood Center continues to hope that the central government, Provincial Government or a caring donor will come to the rescue and help the center meet an ever-urgent need for platelets.
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