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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Red Cross appeals for more blood donors as dengue season sets in

Red Cross appeals for more blood donors as dengue season sets in

Published Aug 20, 2020 03:48 pm

With dengue season already upon us, Philippine Red Cross (PRC) chairman and CEO Senator Richard Gordon on Thursday called for more blood donors noting the country’s hospitals are already running low in supply.

Senator Richard Gordon (Senate of the Philippines / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)

“We need more blood donors because a lot of hospitals are running out of blood and we are called upon every day to provide,” he said.

Gordon underscored the need for PRC to have sufficient supply of blood at all times because hospitals depend on the foremost humanitarian organization in the country for their blood requirements.

“Aside from the COVID-19 pandemic that is still affecting our country, we are also into the dengue season, which further increases the demand for blood,” he said. “That’s why we should get our families, our friends and co-workers together to give life-saving blood.”

PRC noted that from January to May this year, records from the Department of Health (DOH) showed a cumulative total of 50,169 dengue cases with 173 deaths.

Dengue virus is transmitted by day biting 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.

For group blood-letting, he explained the PRC can send its mobile blood bus to their locations.

The PRC, he added, 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.

The PRC earlier launched the “Pledge RC143 Blood” program for blood donation to ensure sufficient blood supply in hospitals.

Under the new program, PRC will partner with companies, agencies, and the military which will 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 lockdowns and the fear of COVID-19, Gordon assured that the PRC “has put in place several measures” such as wearing of proper protective equipment and fetching interested blood donors from their homes to bring them to the centers for the blood-letting - among others.

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