A barangay in Pasig City has partnered with non-government organizations (NGOs) and conducted a bloodletting activity last Saturday to help increase the depleting blood supply in the country amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Blood is lifesaving and many people need it badly, but due to lockdowns and other challenges brought about by the pandemic, bloodletting activities have been halted. Since the pandemic started, more blood is needed by the public but more blood is coming out in the blood banks than coming in.
Learning about the problem from one of their members in the Junior Chamber International-Ortigas (JCI-Ortigas), Barangay San Antonio, Pasig Chairman Raymond Lising sought the help of NGOs to hold an orderly bloodletting activity in their village.
Apparently, the uncle of their member died because there was no supply available for him while he was being treated in a hospital in Metro Manila.
This became a wakeup call to the members of JCI-Ortigas about the pressing matter of blood supply shortage in the country.
"We teamed up with JCI-Ortigas, Philippine Red Cross (PRC), PRU Life UK, Alpha Phi Omega or APO La Salle Chapter, and walangmaiiwan.ph. We came together for a great cause, and this is to save people's lives especially now that there is a blood scarcity due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic," the Pasig barangay chairman said in a statement.
According to Lising, 52 people registered in their online pre-registration for the bloodletting.
Those who donated blood will be in the priority list of the Red Cross in the eventuality that they need blood in the future, he said.
“We are very grateful to all the blood donors. What they did was very heroic for giving their blood equates to saving lives,” he said.
The Pasig barangay chairman said the minimum health protocols have been strictly enforced during the event to ensure the safety of all those who took part.
R.A. Librando, JCI-Ortigas president, said that they learned from PRC that there is only one percent of their blood supply left due to the ongoing pandemic, adding that 50 percent of the blood supply in Metro Manila comes from the Red Cross.
More than 30 bags of blood were reportedly collected by PRC during bloodletting activity in the barangay.