MANILA, June 16 — In celebration of World Blood Donor Day on June 14, Philippine Red Cross (PRC) urges the public to continue donating blood to help save lives.
PRC together with the Department of Health and Philippine Blood Coordinating Council held an Advocacy Walk this morning, June 14 at the Quezon City Circle to highlight the importance of blood donation in saving lives.
“For the Philippine Red Cross to continue helping save lives, we need blood donors to continue giving blood. Without voluntary blood donors, we will not be able to provide blood to the many patients suffering from life-threatening conditions,” said PRC chairman Richard Gordon.
Transfusion of blood and blood products save millions of lives every year. According to chairman Gordon the PRC was able to provide 50 percent of the country’s blood needs in 2015.
Adequate blood supply can only be guaranteed through regular donations by voluntary unpaid donors, who have been identified as the safest source of blood and blood products.
“We aim to provide blood and blood products to more patients in need, which is why we are encouraging more people to voluntarily donate blood on a regular basis,” he said.
In the Philippines, 118 blood units are needed every hour, 2,832 units every day and 1 million blood units every year.
The Red Cross chairman also encouraged Red Cross 143 volunteers in every barangay in the country to spearhead blood donation drives and to keep a directory of people in the community and their respective blood types.
“Having a readily accessible list of people in every community with their blood types will make it easy for us to identify who to tap to in case a particular blood type is needed in the community, particularly in times of disasters and emergencies,” Gordon said.
From January 1 to June 13 this year, the PRC has served 132,249 blood units for a total of 90,087 patients.
PRC also supports indigent or charity patients through its Blood Samaritan Program. From January 1 to June 13, 2016, PRC National Blood Services has served a total of 7,259 charity patients and 9,453 indigent patients.
World Blood Donor Day is being celebrated annually to raise awareness on the importance of blood donation and to recognize the importance and contribution of voluntary unpaid donors in improving health and saving lives.
This year’s campaign theme, “Blood connects us all”, focuses on recognizing and giving thanks to all blood donors, highlighting the concepts of sharing and connection that binds blood donors and patients.