DOH moves to increase number of blood donors

In the observance of the National Blood Donation Month on July, the Department of Health has lined up programs to increase the number of blood donors, one of which is to tap students in public schools as volunteer donors.

The DOH said the culture of blood donation will be taught in public high schools and state universities to "foster a positive attitude" among students to the program.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III revealed that on an average year only 500,000 Filipinos voluntarily donate blood, but government hopes to hike this number to 800,000 or about one percent of the country's population.

DOH-7 blood services program coordinator Judita Tawatao said the government also wants to see an increase in the number of repeat blood donors, a higher number of new donors and a decrease in the number of replacement blood donors.

For the National Blood Donation Month, the DOH-7 said it will recognize diligent donors who have already donated gallons of blood for the past years, and local government units that have been active in bloodletting activities.

To boost the country's blood donation programs, the DOH-7 also aims to limit the areas authorized to do blood testing.

The Regional Blood Center, the Regional Blood Coordinating Council, and the Philippine National Red Cross based in Cebu City will be the sub-national blood centers for people in the Visayas and Mindanao, said Cora Lou Kintanar, head of DOH-7 local government assistance cluster.

Hospitals, per current policy, still require patients to pay as much as P5,000 for the blood testing cost even if blood bags were acquired from the blood centers where prices of blood bags range from P1,200 to P1,500.

These blood centers, in their own drive for voluntary blood donation, said donors and immediate family members can avail of the blood bags for free in cases of emergency for as long as the blood volume taken is replaced, RBCC pathologist Alma Malilong said. - Jasmin R. Uy