With the country’s hospitals already running low on blood supply amid the COVID-19 pandemic and with the dengue season also setting in, the Philippine Red Cross has renewed its call for more blood donors.
“We need more blood donors because a lot of hospitals are running out of blood and we are called upon every day to provide,” said Senator Richard J. Gordon, PRC chairman and CEO.
Aside from the COVID-19 pandemic that is still affecting our country, Gordon said dengue season has set in, which further increases the demand for blood.
Gordon said that the PRC needs to have sufficient supply of blood at all times because hospitals depend on the top humanitarian organization in the country for their blood requirements.
“That’s why we should get our families, our friends and co-workers together to give life-saving blood,” he said.
From January to May this year, the Department of Health recorded a cumulative total of 50,169 dengue cases with 173 deaths. The dengue virus is transmitted by day from Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes.
Mild dengue fever causes a high fever, rash, and muscle and joint pain. But a severe form of dengue fever, also called dengue hemorrhagic fever, can cause severe bleeding, a sudden drop in blood pressure (shock) and death.
Gordon said individual blood donors may call 143 to arrange donations; while for group blood-letting, the PRC can send its mobile blood bus to their locations.
He added that the PRC is also scheduling blood-letting activities with the Social Security System, Central Bank and other large companies whose offices have areas where mass bleeding can be held.
Earlier, the PRC launched the “Pledge RC143 Blood” program for blood donation to ensure the country’s sufficient blood supply.
Under the new program, the PRC will partner with companies, agencies, and the military to provide at least 44 blood donors to the PRC every day to ensure a stable blood supply. The SSS was the first to agree to partner with the PRC for the said program.
To ensure that blood donors will be safe and comfortable amid the COVID lockdowns and fear of COVID-affected blood drives, the Red Cross has put in place several measures such as wearing of proper protective equipment and fetching interested blood donors from their homes to the the blood-letting centers, among others.