By Phoebe Salvador
Eagle News Service
(Eagle News) — The Department of Health (DOH) and the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) are urging all Filipinos to help save lives through voluntary blood donation as part of the global celebration of World Blood Donor Day today, June 14.
DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III said, “We continue to enjoin all Filipinos to imbibe the spirit of bayanihan and be instrumental in saving more lives by donating blood today.”
He announced that the DOH adopted the local theme, “Dugong Bigay, Dugtong Buhay,” to get the message closer to more Filipinos and encourage the public to continuously donate blood to maintain a safe and adequate supply.
Meanwhile, the PRC encourages the public to participate in its bloodletting activity being conducted today from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m in its different blood service facilities listed at www.redcross.org.ph/get-involved/give-blood/blood-service-facilities.
-MRT offers free rides to all blood donors-
In partnership with the Department of Transportation (DOTr), the PRC also announced that MRT-3 is offering free rides to all blood donors who will ride the train from the Boni Station, from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m.
To avail of the free ride, the donors are instructed to present their Donors Card upon entry at the Boni Station and get a magnetic single journey ticket (SJT) from the security personnel stationed at the service gate to gain entry to the paid area.
The DOH and the PRC lead this year’s celebration of World Blood Donor Day in the country together with the World Health Organization (WHO), Philippine Blood Coordinating Council, Dugong Pinoy Association Inc., and Blood Galloners Club as they aim to intensify Filipinos’ awareness on the importance of regular blood donation and recognize voluntary, unpaid blood donors.
Over 1,120,408 blood units, according to DOH, have already been collected from the total population– two decades after the National Blood Services Act of 1994 (Republic Act 7719) was signed into law.
“You [donors] are our everyday heroes. Each unit of blood you donate makes a difference in vulnerable lives. The Red Cross was able to provide our share of the country’s blood requirement through the help of our blood donors who have supported our mission of providing safe and quality blood and blood products to our countrymen, especially to the most vulnerable,” PRC Chairman Richard Gordon said in a statement.
PRC organizes mass blood donation activities everyday to have adequate supply of blood especially in times of mass casualty incidents, disasters and other emergencies.
“That’s why we are immensely encouraging the public to donate blood regularly, a simple and painless process that can save precious lives.” Gordon added
“Be there for someone else. Give blood. Share life.”
The theme for this year’s World Blood Donors Day, as set by the WHO, is “Be there for someone else. Give blood. Share life.”
The WHO said transfusion of blood and blood products helps save millions of lives every year.
“It can help patients suffering from life-threatening conditions live longer and with a higher quality of life, and supports complex medical and surgical procedures,” it said.
It explained that blood transfusion is especially needed for women with complications of pregnancy, children with severe anemia, cancer patients, people with conditions such as thalassaemia and sickle cell disease, and people with severe trauma following man-made and natural disasters.
The WHO stated that an increase of 10.7 million blood donations from voluntary unpaid donors has been reported from 2008 to 2013 by 159 countries.
It reported that the highest increase of voluntary unpaid blood donations is in the South-East Asian region (75 percent). The maximum increase in absolute numbers was reported in the South-East Asian region (5.3 million donations), followed by the Western Pacific region (2.8 million donations).
The Philippine Red Cross, for its part explained, that although blood itself is free, it still needs to recover expenses to ensure that the blood is safe for transfusion; thus, there is a blood processing fee approved by the Department of Health.
“For indigent clients who cannot afford the fee, PRC through its Blood Samaritan Program supports them by giving discounts, supported by different individuals and groups to cover the blood processing fees of legitimate indigent patients,” it said in a statement.
“Let’s be heroes everyday for everyone. Give blood. Share life,” it added.
