Labadee

[JudyM]

It was maybe the best cruise day we ever had! We rented floating mats ($10 for the day, well worth it and lots of fun), did a little of everything, mostly just RELAXED. There were some ShipShape $ activities: a beach volleyball game, and we also got a SS$ for walking to Dragon's Breath, which was neat. We had a perfect day. Has anyone been there when it rained? What do you do then?

 

The only drawback is that because Haiti has so many health risks, you will be deferred from giving blood for a full year. This is true even if you stay on the ship (malarial mosquitoes can fly that far from the beach), so if your cruise stops there, you may as well bite the bullet and enjoy the day. DH and I are both loyal Red Cross blood donors, and felt somewhat guilty to have made such a selfish choice. But as I said, maybe our best cruise day ever.

[yogimax]

 

The only drawback is that because Haiti has so many health risks, you will be deferred from giving blood for a full year.

 

Wow, are you serious? That's amazing. Do you have a link to confirm?

[KelJ]

Wow, are you serious? That's amazing. Do you have a link to confirm?

 

Yes, it's true. My dad is a regular donor and had to wait a year after we visited Labadee.

This is from the Red Cross website:

In-Depth Discussion of Malaria and Blood Donation

Malaria is a blood infection caused by a parasite that can be transmitted from a donor to a patient through transfusion. It is possible to have a new infection with malaria but have no symptoms, even though the parasite is present in your blood. It is also possible to feel well, but have a very mild case of malaria, especially if you have lived for extended periods of time in parts of the world where malaria is found.

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Protection keep track of the locations with malaria for international travelers from the United States, and this information is available on their web site at http://www.cdc.gov. There is risk of malaria in some parts of Mexico. In the Caribbean, malaria is found only in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

 

The countries that have NO malaria risk in any area are as follows, listed alphabetically:

 

Albania, Andorra, Anguilla, Antigua/Barbuda, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azores, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Bermuda, Boznia/Herzegovina, British Indian Ocean Territory Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Canary Islands, Cayman Islands, Chile, Christmas Island, Cook Islands, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Diego Garcia Islands, Dominica, Easter Island, England, Estonia, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Fiji, Finland, France, French Polynesia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Holy See, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland (Northern and Republic of), Israel, Italy, , Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Kuwait, , Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madeira, Maldives, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montserrat, Nauru, Netherlands, Netherland Antilles, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Pacific Islands, Palau, Pitcairn Islands, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Reunion, Romania, Russia, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts, Saint Lucia, Saint Pierre, Saint Vincent, Samoa, San Marino, Scotland, Serbia and Montenegro, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad/Tobago, Tunisia, Turks/Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, , Virgin Islands, Wake Island, and Yugoslavia.

 

Blood donations are not tested for malaria. Therefore, it is important that people who may have malaria or been exposed to malaria because of living in, or traveling to, a country where malaria is present not be allowed to donate blood until enough time has passed to be certain that they are not infected with malaria. This is done by having a waiting period for those who lived in, move from, or traveled to, the locations with malaria.

 

If you have traveled outside of the United States, your travel destinations will be reviewed to see if you were in a malaria-risk area. It would be most helpful if you came prepared to report the country and city or destinations to which you traveled, as well as the travel dates.

And this is from the link on the Red Cross website that takes you to the CDC website:

Countries with Malaria Risk

 

Travelers to sub-Saharan Africa have the greatest risk of both getting malaria and dying from their infection. However, all travelers to countries with malaria risk may get this potentially deadly disease.

Malaria is transmitted in

• large areas of Central and South America
  
• the island of Hispaniola (includes Haiti and the Dominican Republic)
  
• Africa
  
• Asia (including the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and the Middle East)
  
• Eastern Europe
  
• and the South Pacific

[kc320]

Wow, are you serious? That's amazing. Do you have a link to confirm?

 

I was informed by my local blood bank Civitan, that I cannot donate blood for *6* years from the date I visited Lababdee...he even made to count back & figure out the exact date I had been on the island... I was shocked... I had fully expected a year..but not SIX...it was a beautiful day though... and I'm glad to have expereienced it...

[KelJ]

I was informed by my local blood bank Civitan, that I cannot donate blood for *6* years from the date I visited Lababdee...he even made to count back & figure out the exact date I had been on the island... I was shocked... I had fully expected a year..but not SIX...it was a beautiful day though... and I'm glad to have expereienced it...

 

Six years? Wow! We were last there in December 2006, and my dad had to wait a year.

[mkca]

TPkeller, where on your map does the zipline land? I want to be in a good spot to take pictures!! Thank you for the map..its great!!

[TPKeller]

TPkeller, where on your map does the zipline land? I want to be in a good spot to take pictures!! Thank you for the map..its great!!

Thanks for the kind compliment!

 

I believe that the landing zone is near the Dragon's Breath end. I've been working on trying to find someone who goes on the zip line with a GPS to provide me with both the start and end coordinates, so I can draw a small line, but as of yet, I haven't had any donors!

 

Speaking of donors.... The Red Cross follows the CDC recommendations on this subject, and they do change from time to time. I have been a regular blood donor, and after my visit to Labadee in 2003, I was able to give within a year. The nurse on duty told me it was OK as long as I had not been ashore at night. Apparently at that time, the mosquitoes they were concerned with were only nocturnal. But also apparently, their concerns have changed since then...

 

Theron