Eric (right), a hemophiliac, waits with his mom to receive medicine inside Hospital Escuela, the largest public hospital in Honduras.

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras –It’s hard to imagine that a bump to the elbow could land you in the hospital, but such was the case for 11-year-old Eric Vargas of Honduras.

Like many boys his age, Eric loves to play. But things turned serious when he ran into a doorway inside his house.

Immediately, his elbow began to swell and without hesitation, his mother Ebony rushed him to Hospital Escuela, the largest public hospital in Honduras that treats an estimated 40-60,000 patients every month.

Eric is a hemophiliac, so any minor injury can become life-threatening in a moment’s notice. Fortunately, when he and his mother arrived to the hospital, there was medicine available.

For the past four months, the hospital has been without Factor VIII, the most common medicine to treat hemophilia, an inherited disorder in which one of the proteins needed to form blood clots is missing.

Within 48 hours, DHL shipped the temperature-sensitive medicine to Honduras. The 700 doses of Factor VIII are now helping to treat an estimated 200 hemophiliacs.

Factor VIII provides hemophiliacs with the necessary protein and, depending on an individual’s case, some hemophiliacs require several doses a month - others, several doses a day.

Operation Blessing was alerted to the need by the First Lady of Honduras and quickly contacted MAP International who, through a partnership with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, secured a donation of 700 doses of Factor VIII worth approximately $250,000.

The shipment of medication, which required strict temperature controls, was then rushed by global delivery giant, DHL, from the U.S. at no cost and arrived in-country within 48 hours for distribution to patients.

“This medicine literally saved lives,” said Dr. Etna Yaneth, head of the department of pharmacy at the hospital. “If we had not had it, this man surely would have died,” she said, referring to a 57-year-old man who had a massive hematoma in his leg and had traveled six hours by car to reach the hospital.

The 700 doses of Factor VIII are now helping to treat an estimated 200 patients.

HOW YOU CAN HELP
Be a part of OBI's ongoing medical relief efforts by making an online contribution to help those suffering from extreme poverty and sickness.

 

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