Giving the gift of life to Zimbabwe: Honouring Belinda’s memory
The aim of this campaign is to raise $60 000 to buy a much-needed plasmapheresis machine for Zimbabwe. This machine collects and separates blood, which can then be used for multiple therapeutic interventions within the NBSZ and across the whole of Zimbabwe.
Belinda Estment was the beloved wife, sister, aunt, and friend who passed away on 14 September 2022, due to complications that arose from contracting malaria while on holiday in Zimbabwe.
The community where she lived, in Suurbraak South Africa, saw her as a ‘Mother Theresa’ and continue to mourn her passing. Wherever there was somebody in need Belinda would assist in whatever way she could.
Gregarious, charming, multi-talented and courageous; she could mix concrete and build walls, dig holes for trees, cook, bake and hand paint divine tablecloths in geometric patterns of Africa. Most of all, Belinda loved people and they felt it!
Belinda and her husband, Kevin, were travelling through Zimbabwe on a “trip of a lifetime” when they both contracted malaria. Despite both of them receiving initial treatment on the shores of Lake Kariba, Belinda’s condition worsened, and she was admitted to hospital in Harare. There she suffered further complications. Her primary physician identified Methemoglobinemia (a rare blood disorder that affects how red blood cells deliver oxygen throughout the body) and acute renal failure and immediately placed her on dialysis.
Shortly afterwards she was diagnosed with a blood disease called acute Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (TTP). In TTP, blood clots form in small blood vessels throughout the body and can limit or block the flow of blood to organs, such as the brain, kidneys, and heart. Without immediate treatment through access to a plasma exchange machine this condition is considered fatal. Fortunately, in the space of about 4 hours, Belinda’s haematologist was able to arrange for the National Blood Service of Zimbabwe (NBSZ) to provide immediate access to one of only three plasmapheresis machines in Zimbabwe. This gave Belinda a fighting chance over the following week of therapy as her plasma exchange sessions alternated with dialysis each day.
Despite some of the best and most compassionate care received from all the medical and hospital staff, Belinda passed away on September 14, 2022.
There is an urgent need in Zimbabwe for another Plasmapheresis Machine in order to obtain individual blood components e.g., red blood cells, platelets and plasma, based on specific gravity which will be used for transfusion in different patients to treat various disorders as well as to treat multiple life-threatening conditions through;
- plasma exchange;
- stem cells;
- therapeutic cell removal.
In Belinda’s memory, her loved ones have launched Belinda’s Gift of Life, a fundraising campaign to raise $60,000 (roughly ZAR1,000,000) to purchase a new Plasmapheresis machine for The National Blood Service of Zimbabwe (NBSZ). There are 3 main reasons for this.
- Firstly, Belinda’s loved ones would like to thank the NBSZ for the unquestioning support they gave to her by providing her full access to one of their limited machines in the country, including staff support for her treatments as well as supplying over 50 units of fresh frozen plasma, brought in at short notice from towns around Zimbabwe.
- Secondly, they’d like to thank all the caring medical and support staff at all of the facilities that were involved in Belinda’s treatment, including the Milton Park team, the Dandaro Dialysis clinic, and all of the specialists, ward, and general staff at all of the facilities involved in her treatment.
- And lastly, they wish to extend a thank you to the people of Zimbabwe for their humanity and compassion and for the care that was shown both during and after Belinda’s illness.
To donate, go to: https://chuffed.org/project/belindasgiftoflife. For more information contact Jean Pieters at jpieters_za@hotmail.com