Medical instrument firm makes donation to Haiti

Alyson Nisbett, director of Sheffield-based Platts and Nisbett, was so moved by pictures of her cousin Carmen Michalska pulling the 24-year-old man to safety following the earthquake in Port-au-Prince she contacted medical aid agency Merlin to see what she could do to help.

Hours after the official search had been called off, Ms Michalska heard a noise coming from under the rubble. Being small, she was able to crawl into the tomb-like space and pull out the survivor.

Ms Nisbett said: "When I saw the pictures of people suffering and Carmen's heroic actions I just wanted to do something to help.

"Being a surgical manufacturer, donating instruments to surgeons on the ground treating survivors just made perfect sense.

"As well as needing immediate surgery, thousands of people affected by the earthquake will need surgery in the future as a result of their injuries so ensuring they have the right equipment and instruments is vital."

Merlin has so far shipped more than 33 tonnes of medical supplies to Haiti.

Sheffield-based theatre nurse Angela Knock, who has just flown back from Haiti after spending two weeks helping people who had been injured in the disaster, received the equipment from Platts and Nisbett on behalf of the charity.

She said: "Every year natural disasters leave people in need of medical help at a time when the services on which they once relied are destroyed.

"The people of Haiti urgently need our help and, thanks to companies like Platts and Nisbett, we are able to send much needed medical supplies over to help save more lives."