‘Scary’: Aussie fighting for life in Thailand

A FIFO worker on a break in Thailand is clinging to life after a horrific car accident and his family have made a desperate plea to save him.

The family of a Western Australian man who was involved in a horrific car crash in Thailand are desperately pleading for help to save his life.

FIFO worker James Lothian has been in hospital in Chonburi, a city south east of Bangkok, since March, undergoing extensive multiple surgeries.

Now he is in desperate need of a rare blood type that only one-in-10 Australians have – and even fewer Thais.

“If anyone is travelling there that is O-negative, please donate,” said Mr Lothian’s sister Stacey Lothian.

“It’s a bit scary how many Aussies are going over there for holidays — the fact there’s no O-negative blood in Thailand is scary,” she told newspaper The West Australian.

Australian FIFO worker James Lothian is in a fight for life in Thailand hospital. Picture: GoFundMe.

Mr Lothian’s ordeal began five months ago.

The Perth man was on a break from his mining construction job and visiting his wife and five-year-old son when he was involved in a car accident.

“After the accident, they’ve had to do surgery on his stomach, liver, and other things,” Stacey Lothian said.

“They’ve cut out sections of his large intestine and reconnected it back up.

“That surgery wasn’t successful and his tissue died and he had to have another surgery but that also failed.”

Mr Lothian, 41, has now contracted sepsis and needs an emergency blood transfusion before doctors can operate again.

His blood is O-negative which only nine per cent of Australians have. It’s also a popular blood group because O-type blood can be given to any patient that needs a transfusion.

In Thailand less than one per cent of people have O-negative blood. The prevalence of people with O-negative blood is generally far lower in Asian countries.

Mr Lothian needs three pints of O-negative blood, or about 1.7 litres.

Mr Lothian has a wife and child. Picture: Supplied.

He has been in a Thai hospital for months. Picture: Supplied.

Mr Lothian’s father has flown to Thailand to donate blood but two other donors are also needed. A brother donated in June when he also needed blood but he cannot donate again until next month and the blood is needed now. No one else in his family has the same blood type.

“I’ve been posting all over Thailand ex-pat pages, I’ve been posting stuff on military pages trying to get everyone to share,” Ms Lothian said.

“It’s made me cry how many people have come forward to help but it’s such a rare blood type.”

It’s thought around 800,000 Australians visit Thailand every year meaning as many as 80,000 people passing through Bangkok annually could be a blood type match for Mr Lothian.

Ms Lothian has launched a GoFundMe fundraising page for her brother with an aim to raise $30,000 to pay for spiralling medical bills.

Mr Lothian had no health insurance.

“Jamie has a young child and a wife who has recently lost her mother,” she wrote.

“He is doing a very good job at working to support the family in Thailand.”