City appeals for more Blood donations

22 July 2021 – The City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) recently appealed to kind-hearted citizens to continue donating blood to improve the existing blood supply and save lives in the future.

CDRRMO officer-in-charge Antonette Anaban stated that because of the Corona Virus Disease (COVID) 2019 pandemic and the surge in dengue fever cases in the city, there is already a high demand for blood but the available supply is reportedly limited, thus, the call for more blood donors.

She admitted that the supply of blood had been affected by the previous implementation of the various levels of community quarantine in the country for over a year now that prevented the conduct of blood donation activities to generate adequate blood supply.

However, the CDRRMO officer-in-charge claimed that interested blood donors could visit the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) and other health facilities to donate blood to help in sustaining the sufficient supply of blood for those in need.

According to her, the donated blood plays a vital role in saving the lives of people who are compromised because of the COVID-19 and other life-threatening illnesses.

Earlier, Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong designated Anaban as the CDRRMO officer-in-charge to introduce the appropriate reforms to make the office effectively and efficiently perform its mandate as the city’s emergency operations center for the revitalized anti-COVID response.

Under existing guidelines, blood donation is a voluntary procedure that can help the lives of people.

Among the several types of blood donation that meet different medical needs include whole blood donation and apheresis.

Whole blood donation is the most common type of blood donation during which an individual donates about a pint equivalent to half a liter of whole blood where the blood is then separated into its

components such as red cells, plasma and sometimes platelets while apheresis is a procedure where blood on or is hooked up to a machine that can collect and separate blood components, including red cells, plasma and platelets, and return unused components back to the person.

Anaban expressed hope that there will be more kind-hearted individuals who will voluntarily donate blood to the PRC and other health facilities to help in stabilizing the blood supply in the city to be used for any purpose.

Experts claimed that donating blood will help a person reduce stress, improve one’s emotional well-being, benefits physical health, help get rid of negative feelings and provide a sense of belonging and reduce isolation. – Dexter A. See