Forensic Doctor Calls on Belizeans for Help in Medical Battle

He’s the only forensic examiner in Belize, and for decades, Doctor Roque Blanco has been there to serve his country. His work has touched nearly every corner of public safety, criminal justice, and legal medicine. To continue his life’s mission of service to Belize, he now needs the public’s help to raise one hundred thousand dollars for a life-saving kidney transplant. Here’s Zenida Lanza with the following story.

 

Zenida Lanza, Reporting

For more than twenty years, Dr. Roque Blanco has stood on the frontlines of service to Belize, whether in the military, in the morgue, or in the courts of law. First as a commissioned officer in the Belize Defense Force, and later as a forensic medical examiner at the National Forensic Science Service. Now, Belize’s only forensic examiner is facing his toughest case yet: a battle for his own life. He needs a kidney transplant, and he’s asking the public to help him raise one hundred thousand dollars to make it possible.

 

Dr. Roque Blanco, Forensic Medical Examiner, BNFSS

“I’ve been on dialysis for the past two months.”

 

Interviewer

“How long have you known about your condition?”

 

Dr. Roque Blanco

“I’ve been battling with diabetes for the past twenty-five years, which led to a kidney problem. Which has been worsening and declining over the last year and a half.”

 

Dr. Blanco developed the country’s technique for rehydrating cadaver tissue, which was a breakthrough in identifying bodies from skeletal remains. His work has gained regional recognition, with presentations across the Caribbean. Executive Director of the National Forensic Science Service, Gian Cho, shares why Blanco’s contributions are so important.

 

Gian Cho, Executive Director, BNFSS

“When you have someone like Dr. Blanco, like I said, that pushes to strengthen the system, to find a way to bring closure to those cases. It’s a huge advantage, not only for the department and the services we provide, but for a small country like Belize that from time to time, it’s pretty often that we find skeletonized remains. Given our tropical climate, given the long coastline that we have. Every year you have a handful or more than a handful of decomposed remains that would wash up or that are found at sea.”

 

Doctor Blanco also trains Crimes Investigation Branch officers, National Forensic Science Service personnel, and medical practitioners, alongside lecturing at the University of Belize to pass on his expertise in forensic anthropology to the next generation of Belizeans.

 

Dr. Roque Blanco

“Being a medical examiner or working in the era of forensic medicine, you get the best of both worlds. You know, I always like the military, I like the law, and I also liked being a doctor, you know, a regular doctor. So to me, that’s having best of both worlds, of both medicine and law together.”

 

Even while fighting kidney failure and undergoing dialysis, he still offers free clinics to his community in Orange Walk Town. With his sister as a potential donor and a transplant on the horizon in Mexico, his courage is a call to all of us. Nurse Javier Brito, who met him during an internship at KHMH, urges us to open our hearts and truly understand the courage and hope behind this call for help.

 

Javier Brito, Dialysis Manager, Health Care Partners

“It’s very important to put our hand in our hearts and for people that have given or have put their life on risk, it’s the minimum that we can do. It’s going to be a huge difference and will help him to achieve these objectives that will make the transplant for him.”

 

Doctor Roque Blanco has spent his life serving Belize. Now, it’s our turn to stand with him in his fight for life. Reporting for News Five, I’m Zenida Lanza.