Tourists in hospital get blood
The Ministry of Health and Medical Services has confirmed that they were able to transfuse O negative blood to tourists who were admitted at the Lautoka Hospital after a road accident.
“The Blood Bank team at the Lautoka Hospital were in constant communication with Blood Donor Services to arrange for the O negative, which is a rare blood group among our local pool of donors. “Through their prompt actions, the Blood Bank Officers have secured the blood and the team were able to get additional blood units and transfusions were done.”
“Currently, the team at Lautoka Hospital are providing the required medical care and supervision for the recovery of the patients,” the Ministry of Health and Medical Services stated. This comes after Police confirmed that three tourists were admitted at the Lautoka Hospital after they were involved in an accident on Monday.
The media was alerted about the matter when a post went viral on social media saying ‘Students from Leeds in urgent need of blood donors in Fiji’. Police spokesperson Ana Naisoro said the car was driven by a 72-year-old with three other passengers and were heading towards Lautoka when their vehicle hit the curb on Sabeto Bridge in Nadi.
She said the car spun out of control and hit another vehicle driven by a 44-yearold.
The car driven by the 44-year-old then hit another vehicle driven by a 36-yearold.
Ms Naisoro said the 72-year-old driver and two of the passengers were admitted at the Lautoka Hospital while the other two drivers were treated and sent home.
“Two other tourists have been discharged, but one is still admitted at the Lautoka Hospital and in serious condition, Police continues with investigations,” she said.
It is understood that among three tourists admitted at the Lautoka Hospital was couple, Victoria Blee and Daniel Mendoza.
Their families overseas were pleading Fijians on social media if they could donate or supply the couple with O negative blood. According to Yorkshire Evening News the young Leeds man, Mr Mendoza, was seriously injured in a car crash while on a dream gap year trip.
The couple’s families put out an urgent appeal for other tourists in the area to come forward and donate blood when it was discovered that the Lautoka Hospital, where the couple are being treated, had a shortage of blood.
Both Mr Mendoza, who attended Cardinal Heenan High School and worked in IT before going travelling, and Ms Blee are blood group O.
Her brother, Robert Blee, later confirmed on Twitter that enough blood had been delivered to the hospital. A nurse at the Lautoka Hospital told Fiji Sun that a couple from overseas who were involved in a road accident on Monday were admitted at the hospital. One has been discharged while another one is still admitted in the intensive care unit (ICU).
The nurse could not confirm who was still admitted and who was discharged