Sun. May 29, 2022

   It has been generally agreed that the law of supply and demand is what has been driving the illegal drug industry, and making it difficult, nigh impossible, for authorities to stamp out the production and distribution of these substances which command a lucrative price on the illegal drug market.  If a commodity is in high demand, and the price is good, we can all “bet our bottom dollar” that someone will find a way to supply it to eager customers.  So, some have argued, if we can’t stop it, and we don’t have the fire-power to crush the wealthy cartels, then maybe we should just “legalize it”; because it is not just a function of production that has caused the lucrative market prices which empower the cartels, it is the illegality, which erases normal competition and gives them a captive market.  So, with open competition, the prices should come down, the cartels will have less money to bribe officials and to finance their private armies, and government could then exert some control on the distribution market, while focusing more of its resources on education and treatment of addicts.     

   It is a frequent lamentation of our religious leaders, and Bible lessons have repeated, that the “love of money is the root of all evil.”  Why, then, persist in keeping the money prize so high, which is what “prohibition” has done, so that those of us with weaker faith continue to fall to this great temptation?  If we were truly living in a “land of milk and honey,” where all of God’s children could see a way to earn a decent, honest living, there could be some justification for maintaining the status quo and “just say no”; but in the midst of high poverty, unemployment and malnutrition, are we being “our brother’s keeper” when we advocate to maintain this brutally hard line on a commodity, which by so doing keeps its money value to such a height, that more and more of our citizens keep falling to temptation, and many to their death in quest of their “pot of gold”?

   Well, so much for high pricing leading many to disaster on the illegal drug trail.  But there appears to be a current situation where the lure of commodity pricing may have also infiltrated a precious human resource that had formerly been considered both free and priceless; and in this case, the high prices mentioned may actually be a legitimate avenue for unemployed or low- income earners in reasonable health to receive substantial financial compensation for their donated blood.  The market forces are irresistible.

   While there has been no cry of a current shortage from the Belize National Blood Transfusion Service (BNBTS) Blood Bank, a number of citizens in need of blood for impending surgeries have run into difficulties when trying to find the required units of blood.  A caller to Plus TV today complained that, after securing two units of blood for a relative’s surgery, and this surgery was conducted without needing to use the blood, she was declined access to the same two units when another relative was found in need.  And another caller was concerned that, where previously, because of his status as a regular blood donor, he would be guaranteed access to blood in any emergency situation, the new policy may be requiring that he also locate the required units if he runs into need.  And this writer is aware of two recent cases in Belize City where the search for donated blood was frustrating, and even an offering of $50.00 per unit was not met with success.

   Blood is life, and while the promotions for blood donation often declare that for every unit of donated blood, three lives could be touched, the current economic crisis may have impacted even this avenue of human weakness, where some potential donors are reportedly now requesting as much as $100.00 for a unit.  

   There are market forces at work, and with a limited group of eligible donors, it may not be unreasonable for someone of low income to consider the current high cost of food and the good nutrition required to replenish the body’s resources lost through donation of blood.  It may not be a major concern for someone in a higher economic bracket who is eating well every day; but many in our population are living on the margins and may need a greater incentive than the altruistic reward gained from assisting a stranger with the gift of life.  For a close relative or friend, most eligible donors might not hesitate; but to become a regular donor to the Bank, more incentive may be needed for some people.

   Many people who end up in the hospital and in need of blood fall into the lower economic bracket, and the expense of seeking blood donors for a sizable fee is an added burden.  The situation may be complicated by the reduced team of regular volunteer donors since the advent of Covid-19, which may have impacted the health and thus the eligibility of some former donors.  According to a BNBTS report, the last we could locate online at www.campusvirtualsp.org, dated December 10, 2020, since Covid-19 arrived in March there was a “50% decrease in voluntary non remunerated donations.”  The report indicated that “most donations were replacement donations,” and that while overall “there was a 20% reduction of blood collection… The BNBTS was able to meet the demand, as most hospitals went into emergency mode.”  From the above we are left to wonder what the current situation is with our BNBTS Blood Bank in May 2022, and what can be done to alleviate the urgent need for blood by individual citizens with limited means against market forces that seem to have put a very high price on blood.

   In a couple weeks’ time, Belize will join the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) in celebrating their annual World Blood Donors Day on June 14, when the BNBTS will seek to attract new members to its group of regular volunteer donors.  Along with the acknowledged personal health benefits to be gained by donating blood, it would perhaps be a helpful boost to the drive’s success, if an attractive figure would be advertised as an option to potential donors, who may or may not accept the token offered on completing their donation of blood.  This way, there would be no stigma on those who may need the financial assistance.  After all, it is not anybody who qualifies to be a blood donor, even if you are within the age limits of 18 and 65 years.  According to the private website www.belmopanonline.com/blood-donation-requirements, to qualify as a blood donor, one must also be declared free from a number of diseases, including: asthma, rheumatic fever, hypertension, goiter, heart disease, stroke, epilepsy (seizures), diabetes, brucellosis, blood disease, cancer, HIV/AIDS.  Also barred from giving blood is anyone who “had Hepatitis on or after the age of eleven (11);” “had Malaria in the past two (2) years;” who is “within one year after major surgery, transfusion of blood and blood products, pregnancy, miscarriage, abortion or cesarean-section;” who is “within one week after menstruation;” or who is “within twelve (12) months after (receiving) a tattoo.”   

   Indeed, it is an elite group of healthy Belizeans who qualify to become blood donors, and they should be pampered and treasured.  And if they are currently unemployed or in a low-income situation, those individuals should not feel guilty in accepting financial assistance.  If the Blood Bank is unable to make blood available to the poor in our hospitals because the regular donor pool is not large enough to suffice, then perhaps a sponsored quota of temporary donors who are given compensation should be considered.  After all, if a patient can be refused treatment at a private hospital unless he/she can make a downpayment, why should a potential blood donor be viewed derisively for requesting/accepting compensation?