Harding Sesay bids the Africa Mercy farewell after receiving
lifechanging treatment on his face .
Millions of people around the
world are alive today because someone, somewhere donated their
blood.
Today these countless unknowns and the lives they have changed
are being celebrated the world over as part of World Blood Donor
Day today.
Among the world's blood donors are volunteer crew members
onboard Mercy Ship's hospital ship, Africa Mercy.
The Africa Mercy provides free life-saving and life-changing
medical treatment to locals wherever it docks, and this often
requires blood transfusions to make the procedures possible.
The lack of space on the ship means that blood cannot be
stockpiled but with a crew made up entirely of volunteers, there is
never a shortage of willing blood donors whenever a call goes
out.
What is special in this case is that those who have been saved
through the blood transfused from a crew member of the Africa Mercy
have the chance to meet their donors face to face.
“We call it a walking blood bank,” says Claudia Juarez, a senior
lab technologist on the Africa Mercy.
“When crew members arrive, they have the option to become blood
donors. If they agree, they are screened and know that they could
be asked to donate whenever the need for blood arises."
So far this year, 209 crew members on the Africa Mercy have
signed up to be blood donors and 162 of those cross-matched with 95
patients who may need blood for their surgical procedures. A total
of 37 units of blood have been donated.
One lucky recipient was 23-year-old Harding Sesay of Guinea,
West Africa. He arrived at the Africa Mercy with a boil on his nose
that, without access to a doctor or medical treatment, had grown so
large that it had blocked the vision in his right eye.
He was lucky enough to have the tumour removed by doctors on the
Africa Mercy whilst it was docked in Sierra Leone.
His donor was ward nurse Corina Buth, who had prepared Sesay for
surgery and walked him into the operating room, where she stayed to
witness the operation to remove his tumour.
Sesay suffered massive blood loss during the surgery and Buth
was called upon to donate a unit of blood. No sooner had she
donated her blood and it was being transfused into Sesay.
As he recovered the next day, he was unable to speak, but Buth
understood his feeling.
“His eyes told the whole story. I knew he was thankful,” she
said.
Prior to his surgery, Sesay had spent seven years hiding from
the world because of the tumour on his face. Now he is thankful
that he can enjoy life once more.
“For so many years I suffered. Now, I am happy, and I’m full of
joy. Thanks to God for what Mercy Ships has done for me.”