Stuff we Like: Lifebox.org
The end of the year madness has begun. The rush of elective surgeries, the crowded parking lots at Target and the frenzy to complete your CME. It is also a time to consider giving to charity. As an anesthesia related blog..hence the title, I thought it prudent to highlight a related charity:
Lifebox is one of those charities:
Today, over 77,000 operating rooms worldwide have to make do without pulse oximeters to monitor patients. This means tens of thousands of lives are lost every year: without adequate monitoring, a routine operation can be fatal.
The number of operating theatres working without pulse oximetry ranges from 41% in Latin America, to 49% in south Asia, to 70% in Sub-Saharan Africa. Meanwhile the number of surgical procedures is on the rise – did you know there are now more surgical procedures performed each year than there are babies born?
Our studies indicate that by closing this gap and increasing the use of the Surgical Safety Checklist worldwide, we can cut death rates by half.
The ASA is on board with this project and has, in fact, made it quite easy for its members to donate here. Do it, feel good about it and happy holidays.
