Haitians still dying of injuries due to lack of medical care

10,000 people a day are being buried using earthmovers. Clinics have a 12 day waiting list. An estimated 100,000 to 250,000 injured survivors need surgery that most will never get. Please help International Medical Corps in their efforts to deal with this medical tragedy.

I've decided to keep this article as my blog's top post through the weekend. According to the World Health Organization in a release Wednesday, surgical care is Haiti's most urgent medical need. Emergency surgery, treatment of wounds, and tetanus prevention present an "overwhelming" need, WHO stated.

I'm pleased to post this request from International Medical Corps who need help in a big way to deal with the horrendous workload they face in Haiti. 80% of patients need surgery. It broke my heart as I listened to the news this week about the close to 50 amputations that had to be performed over the last couple of days at just one makeshift operating room because patients did not get medical attention soon enough to prevent gangrene from setting in. I'm not sure which medical team or teams performed these amputations but every second counts as crushed arms and legs fester and disease spreads throughout the makeshift tents.

Donating $10 to help the people of Haiti is as simple as sending a text message of the word "haiti" to 85944.

Click here to donate other than texting - urgent action is needed - Doctors and nurses who wish to volunteer please Click here - thanks.

Here's the urgent memo I received Wednesday:

"Dear Merv

International Medical Corps is a global, humanitarian, nonprofit organization, founded by volunteer doctors and nurses and dedicated to saving lives and relieving suffering through relief and development programs. Our emergency response team is in Haiti responding in force and I would like to ask for your help to get the word out to the readers of Merv Sheppard's Transplant Network. There are still thousands of patients seeking treatment of which approximately 80% are in need of surgery and are running out of time - especially with the tremendous aftershocks still devastating this country. The team is treating crush injuries, trauma, substantial wound care, shock and other critical cases with the few available supplies - And they're in it for the long haul. I would love your help spreading the word by blogging or tweeting about IMC's rescue efforts. We've put up a blogger friendly widget here on our site:

http://www.imcworldwide.org/haiti
(click here to donate - urgent action is needed - doctors and nurses who wish to volunteer please visit this site - thanks) Note: This site is updated daily with news of ongoing activities of International Medical Corps in Haiti. Merv.

With the widget it's really easy to let your readers know that donating $10 to help the people of Haiti is as simple as sending a text message of the word "haiti" to 85944. If you have any questions just let me know and I will do my best to help you out. If you are able to post the widget or tweet, I would appreciate it if you could send me the link.

Thanks so much,

Ellie

--
Ellie Brown
International Medical Corps"

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