Bermuda blood donors celebrated with help from Hamilton Princess

Monday 8 July 2024: For the fourth year in a row, the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club has sponsored prizes to celebrate and recognise Bermuda’s blood and apheresis donors.

Regular and new blood and apheresis donors were eligible for one of two prizes. Regular donor, Pamela Outerbridge, won a night’s stay at the illustrious hotel and Malcom Swan, a new donor this year, won a champagne brunch at the hotel.

Acting Pathology Manager Giselle Ming comments : “It makes us very happy to be able to appreciate our donors. We have an entirely voluntary blood donation service, which is the gold standard for safety and quality around the world. The Hamilton Princess & Beach Club are helping us thank these heroes who ensure lives can be saved with safe, voluntary blood and apheresis donations. Hamilton Princess is also a regular participant in our Corporate Blood Drive Competition, which means they not only help us recognise our donors, but support and encourage their colleagues to donate too.”

General Manager of the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club Tim Morrison adds: “It is our pleasure to support the Bermuda Blood Donor team as they seek to recognise their donors. Blood donation is vital in for our community, saving lives and supporting critical care for patients who need therapeutic treatments. We are proud to help celebrate the donors who are making such a valuable contribution to healthcare in Bermuda.”

Freisenbruch wins Corporate Blood Drive for the third time

Friday 14 June 2024: It’s World Blood Donor Day today and the Bermuda Blood Donor Centre is excited to announce that Freisenbruch Insurance Services Ltd has been crowned as Corporate Blood Drive champions of 2024. Freisenbruch were also winners in 2020 and 2021.

The friendly annual competition is run by Bermuda Hospitals Board and the Ministry of Health. The winner is announced on World Blood Donor Day each year in June. This is the eleventh competition. Bermuda businesses and organisations participate by having their employees, and their employees’ friends and families donate blood on their behalf. The Corporate Blood Drive helps sustain adequate supplies of unpaid, voluntary blood for people who need transfusions in Bermuda. There are nearly 2,000 donations made each year, and every donation can help up to three people.

Participants alongside Freisenbruch in this year’s competition were: Ariel Re, Ascot, Aspen, Athene, Bacardi, Bermuda Bicycle Association, Bermuda  Monetary Authority, Butterfield & Vallis, Conduit Re, Fidelity International, Fortitude Re, Hamilton Princess Hotel & Beach Club, Hiscox and MS Reinsurance.

Minister of Health, the Hon. Kim Wilson JP MP comments: “Congratulations, Freisenbruch Insurance Services Ltd, and thank you to all the participating organisations. It’s wonderful to see this competition bring businesses together to help meet the need for blood in Bermuda. It’s a way for every business to make a huge difference to our community and I encourage more businesses to sign up this year. I was very excited to be able to start donating last year with the lifting of the restrictions for people who’d spent time in the UK. Please donate and encourage your employer to sign up and save lives.”

Chief of Pathology and Consultant Haematologist Dr Eyitayo Fakunle notes: “Well done, Freisenbruch, for their third win. We enjoy celebrating the winner because they often have gone above and beyond to encourage their employees, and their employees’ friends and family to donate. But every donation made as part of the competition is saving lives. Wide participation of the Bermuda community ensures everyone can access blood and plasma proteins when they need it. So thank you all our blood donors. Your selfless donations have had a profound impact on the lives and well-being of thousands of people in Bermuda.”

CEO of Freisenbruch Patrick Neal comments: “We are proud to win the Corporate Blood Drive Competition for the third time. We know how important our support of blood donation is to our employees and we are happy to be back at the top! More seriously, it is a wonderful way for us to support our community and to do our part to ensure everyone in Bermuda has access to donations given with great generosity by their fellow residents. Thank you to our employees for their donations. We look forward to defending our title in 2025!”

Companies interested in joining the 2025 competition can email blood.donor@bhb.bm or call 236-5067.

BHB wishes everyone a safe and joyous Bermuda Day holiday weekend

Thursday 23 May 2024: Chief of Emergency Dr Chikezie Dean Okereke comments: “While we hope everyone enjoys the running, swimming and parade, for anyone in need of emergency or urgent healthcare services, we will be here.

“The KEMH Emergency Department is open 24 hours throughout the weekend for medical emergencies and if someone experiences a mental health crisis they can call BHB’s 24-hour mental health crisis hotline 239-1111 for advice. As a special reminder, if an individual experiences stroke symptoms, they must come in immediately or call 911. Do not wait to see if symptoms resolve or think you can wait. A full recovery following a stroke can depend on you getting treatment in time. We see up to five stroke victims a week and time is often the most important deciding factor on their outcome.

“The Lamb Foggo Urgent Care Centre will be open for its usual weekend hours, 9am to 9pm, on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 May. It is not open on Friday 24 May. The UCC can help if you have an urgent, but not emergency healthcare need. There will be an x-ray service available, so if someone hurts their ankle or arm, for example, they can get their diagnostics in St David’s while the UCC is open.

“However, if your issue does not require an immediate healthcare response please remember that your family doctor is best placed to assist you. As your primary healthcare provider, they can advise, treat and refer you as necessary.

“Finally, look after yourself and ensure your family doesn’t get bad news this weekend by driving carefully and especially not taking drugs, drinking and driving. We cannot stress enough how important road safety is in preventing life-changing injuries and deaths. Please care for yourself and for all those in our community. Let’s enjoy this wonderful Bermuda holiday peacefully and safely.”

For details on stroke symptoms, remember the BE FAST acronym: If you experience a sudden issue with your Balance, Eyes (vision), Face (one side drooping), Arm or leg weakness or Speech problems, it’s Time you call 911. Watch this short video for more information or read the graphic below.

Blood donation criteria now based on individual sexual activity

Tuesday 7 May 2024: Bermuda Hospitals Board today updated its blood donor eligibility criteria to include risk-based questions that will be the same for every individual, regardless of sexual orientation, sex or gender. These questions reduce the risk of transfusion-transmitted infections, such as HIV.

The change brings Bermuda in line with blood donation criteria in the UK, Canada and the US.

Consultant Haematologist and Acting Chief of Pathology Dr Eyitayo Fakunle explains: “Our focus is always to ensure that our criteria maximise the safety of our blood supply. We test all our donated blood and we also defer donations from people who do not meet our criteria. Deferrals of higher-risk individuals and testing of all donated blood together give us the best protection overall.”

Prior to this change, the Bermuda Blood Donor Centre criteria had time-based deferrals specific to men who’d had sex with men (MSM) and women who’d had sex with MSM during the previous three months.

“These criteria didn’t address the sexual behaviour of all individuals, nor did they recognise that not everyone in one group has the same level of risk,” Dr Fakunle says. “The new questions will therefore be asked of all donors, irrespective of their sexual orientation.”

The new criteria will defer prospective donors who report having anal sex with a new sexual partner or more than one sexual partner of any gender in the past three months. People who are in monogamous relationships of three months or more will therefore not be deferred, irrespective of their sexual orientation.

Dr Fakunle adds: “We continue to use global research and evidence so that our blood donation criteria ensure safe transfusions for our patients. This is without doubt our most important priority in transfusion services.

“Criteria are updated when science indicates there is a more effective way to ensure safety. As a small jurisdiction, we closely follow the US and Canada specifically as we are accredited by patient safety bodies from both those countries.”

People can review a factsheet on sexual activity and blood donation, and all the blood donation eligibility criteria on the BHB website at bermudahospitals.bm/be-a-donor.