All necessary measures are currently being taken by the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) to ensure unceasing blood services after a fire broke out at the Zamboanga del Sur provincial health office, the agency said Monday, November 1.
PRC said in a statement that its Zamboanga Del Sur Chapter Office and Blood Center are both located in the provincial capitol complex and have been directly affected by the fire that hit the office on Sunday night, October 31.
Currently, PRC teams are assessing if the blood bank equipment is still usable, this includes blood refrigerators and power supplies for blood augmentation.
This is on top of the generator set, a tricycle, and around 150,000 doses of vaccines that have been completely damaged during the fire.
READ MORE: Zamboanga del Sur blaze destroys nearly 150K COVID-19 vaccines
PRC Chairman and CEO Senator Dick Gordon has directed the local chapter to send the unaffected blood units to nearby hospitals for storage. Nearby PRC Blood Centers within and on nearby regions are on alert to ensure that blood will be available to the area if needed.
Investigation is still ongoing to determine the cause of the fire.