A Maltese citizen informed this site that after fasting for 16 hours in order to be given fluorescein dye intravenously, he was sent back home from Mater Dei because they did not have the dye yet. He was told, ‘The aeroplane has not arrived’, as this dye is imported.
Fluorescein dye “is a diagnostic contrast agent particularly used in various ophthalmic procedures, such as checking for any corneal or vessel abnormalities. The application of fluorescein also extends to bioimaging whole anatomic structures and even further to cellular components in immunohistological staining.”
Mater Dei told the Maltese citizen to go the day after, and, of course, to fast for another sixteen hours!