Residents want more nearby island blood drives to help Maui firefighters

MAUI (HawaiiNewsNow) – Friday marks one week since a Maui firefighter was seriously injured in a flash flood.

Tre Evans-Dumaran, 24, drowned in a storm drain and was thrown into the sea in Kihei.

He is still fighting for his life.

His family is requesting a blood donation. But for now, only people on Oahu can donate.

“I definitely wanted to show my appreciation to the people of Oahu who donate all the time because now I know how much we depend on them, especially since they are the ones with the facilities,” said Molokai resident Karlamae Pua-Kahokano. .

In Hawaii Blood Bank only has one permanent facility on Oahu that is open seven days a week.

BBH rotates around the neighboring islands every month. It will be in Kona this month, Maui next month, Kauai in April and Hilo in May. Then it starts rotating all.

Puaa-Kahokano’s wife is related to Tre. They want to see more frequent blood transfusions on neighboring islands.

“I’m asking them to consider doing something like a mobile blood bank or sending someone to the hospital so they can help,” he said. “We have a hospital, they take blood for diagnosis. So why not donate blood…we have donors. ”

The Hawaii Blood Bank declined to be interviewed about what it would take to find a permanent location on the nearby islands or arrange for an emergency blood drive.

However, they released a statement saying, “The best effort is to get people to make an appointment on Oahu and fill all Maui driving spots in March.”

He hopes to break the Maui bloodshed record for Evans-Dumaran.

“Sending our love to the family and keep fighting. If my mate was here, she’d be like, “Fight Tre!” ” said Puaa-Kahokano. “I’m just praying that something will happen to this.”

Donors coming on behalf of Tre are asked to use the sponsor code 1898.

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