Cubans flock hospitals to donate blood after explosion at the Saratoga Hotel

 


HAVANA, Cuba, May 6 (ACN) After the explosion this morning at the Saratoga Hotel in Havana, hundreds of people have gone to the blood collection points set up throughout the province to contribute with their gesture to save the lives of the victims of the accident.

Jose Angel Estevez Noa, director of the Provincial Blood Bank, located in the central 23rd avenue of Vedado, explained that when the tragedy occurred, the facility was finishing its activities for the day, with about twenty donations, however, the response of the population was immediate and they came to offer their help.

The province is currently at 75 percent (%) of blood recovery, we must recover between 120 and 130% in the face of this emergency, he said.

He said that polyclinics of the 15 Havana municipalities are participating in the collection of the vital resource, the blood banks of Guanabacoa and Diez de Octubre and 43 donation points distributed in the Havana territory, which are working to recover as much blood as possible.
He pointed out that there are always reserves in hospitals for circumstances like this, and there is also availability of O-negative blood, which is the universal donor.

Members of the Industriales baseball team also came to the facility to offer their support; Alexis Alarcón, their delegate, affirmed that when the boys heard the news they were very willing to collaborate in whatever was needed, and that is why they went to the blood bank in an act of solidarity.
Roberto Acebedo, one of the members of the team, declared that this is an unfortunate incident that saddens all Cubans and in view of which the families are united in support of those affected.

This was also the opinion of Elisabeth Moya, a first year medical student, who heard about the explosion from a neighbor and immediately went to the General Calixto García University Clinical and Surgical Hospital and later to the Provincial Blood Bank to be of help in this sad event.

It was neither a bomb nor an attack, it was an unfortunate accident, said Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel today, who arrived at the site of the explosion and, after a tour of hospital facilities receiving the injured, returned to the vicinity of the Saratoga Hotel, where he was updated on the rescue and salvage actions.