PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan -- The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) here on Thursday appealed to local government units (LGUs) in Palawan to regularly hold blood donation activities and establish their Municipal Blood Councils (MBC) to support blood supply demand all year round.
The request was made by PRC-Palawan medical technologist Agnes Melinda Beronio and chapter administrator Vic de Leon in a Kapihan hosted by the Philippine Information Agency.
“There is currently no blood council that has been established in Palawan in any of its 23 municipalities,” said Beronio.
“(These will) help because one of the supposed activities of the MBC is to encourage voluntary blood donors and organize blood donation activities. Actually, it is the target of the Department of Health’s (DOH) scorecard to have 1 percent blood donors in every municipal or provincial population,” De Leon added.
If MBCs are already present in the municipalities and blood donation activities are regularly done, the province can be assured to meet its projected requirement of 8,000 blood units this year.
Beronio said donating blood is good as it reduces excessive iron in the body that could be deposited in different organs and affect their functions.
"It also burns fats and helps people feel good about themselves," she said but adding the most important is helping save peoples' lives.
Last year, the PRC in the province had projected the same amount of required blood units, but it was only able to pull together a supply of 7,729 from voluntary donation activities for 4,150 individuals.
The need was augmented to 8,300 by supplies that were sent by PRC chapters in Iloilo, Cebu, Capiz, and Manila.
“What we need is for our LGUs to schedule blood donation programs regularly so that we are assured the whole year,” he added.
To initiate this, the PRC had sought the help of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan this week to pass a measure that would stress the need for the municipalities to create the MBCs.
Board Member Eduardo Modesto Rodriguez, author of the resolution, said the setting up of the blood councils in Palawan towns could no longer be delayed because the need for supply increases every year.
“We have to do this now for our people, who might be needing blood during emergency situations,” he said.
The Provincial Health Office in the province led on February 16, the first-ever meeting of the Palawan Blood Council, where its chief, Dr. Mary Ann Navarro, presented to various agencies their planned bloodletting projects for 2018.
She assured that the provincial government will do its best to help the PRC under the Palawan Voluntary Blood Services Program established in 2013 when Provincial Ordinance No. 1302 was passed by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan. (PNA)
Photo of Agnes Melinda Beronio and Vic de Leon of the Philippine Red Cross-Palawan Chapter by Celeste Anna R. Formoso
