THE Philippine Red Cross yesterday appealed anew for blood donors as the dengue season sets in, with Sen. Richard Gordon saying the country’s hospitals are running low on blood supply due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gordon, PRC chairman and chief executive officer, said the agency needs to have sufficient supply of blood at all times since hospitals depend on the humanitarian organization for their blood requirements.
“We need more blood donors because a lot of hospitals are running out of blood and we are called upon every day to provide. 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. That’s why we should get our families, our friends and co-workers together to give life-saving blood,” he said.
Gordon had made an earlier appeal for blood donors at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
From January to May this year, Gordon said the Department of Health recorded a cumulative total of 50,169 dengue cases with 173 deaths. Mild dengue fever causes 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 while the PRC can send its mobile blood bus to locations for group blood-letting. He added the PRC 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 had launched the “Pledge RC143 Blood” program for blood donation to ensure sufficient blood supply. 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.
