CEBU CITY—The blood donation campaign launched by the Department of Health (DOH-7), the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV), and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD-7) on July 16 to 30 in various areas in Cebu attracted 900 donors.
The blood donation campaign in the four barangays in Tabuelan town recorded the highest number of donors with 566, accounting for more than half of the total donors.
The campaign carried the tagline, “Donate Blood! Save Lives! Be A Hero” and brought it to to Balamban town with 27 donors; Talisay City with 10; Mandaue City with 116 and Lapu-Lapu City with 179 blood donors.
Based on the latest blood pool of DOH-7’s Sub-National Blood Center for Visayas, it has a total of 78 units of packed red blood cells (PRBC), nine units of platelet concentrate, 59 units of fresh frozen plasma and 68 units of emergency PRBC stocks.
According to Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, DOH-7 chief pathologist that the Sub-National Blood Center's supply was a lot better now with the active blood donation drive in partnership with DOH, OPAV, DSWD, PNP, the various LGUs.
"We are truly grateful to the donors- people with a heart to help those in need of blood, a lifesaving action, we are amazed by the response and willingness to share a part of their lives- their blood, but we need to continue on for the demand is great and we have to be ready at all times," Loreche said.
Some 59 personnel of the Police Regional Office (PRO) in Central Visayas also supported the campaign by donating their blood and 26 soldiers from the 53rd Engineer Brigade of the Philippine Army who have fully recovered from COVID-19 also volunteered to donate their blood plasma at the Headquarters 53E of Camp Lapu-Lapu in Cebu City.
Loreche said that the blood donation campaign was timely and doubly important as the demand for plasma is also expected to increase with the rising COVID-19 cases and demand for platelet for dengue patients with the onset of the rainy season.
The blood donation initiative had sought to collect blood units with high levels of immunoglobulin (IgG), the most common antibody in the blood from recovered COVID-19 patients in support to the Convalescent Plasma Therapy for severe and critical cases of the viral disease.
OPAV secretary Michael Dino said that even amid a health crisis, the soldiers remained dedicated to fulfilling their missions. The soldiers and police personnel have been in the frontlines since the fight against this unseen enemy started.
“Some of them may have acquired the disease but they have proven their resiliency and selflessness by heeding our call for more plasma donations after recovering from COVID-19,” Dino added.