Dr. Annie Manalaysay, a pathologist and president of the Philippine Blood Coordinating Council, said that despite the government’s campaign for voluntary blood donation, paid donors have remained in business.
But these donors no longer approach prospective clients directly. They instead negotiate through their "pimps," she said.
"In private hospitals, the pimps are often the cigarette vendors posted outside the gate. In government hospitals, sometimes it could even be the janitors," she said.
Manalaysay aired the warning even as the Philippines joins the rest of the world in observing World Blood Donors’ Day today. The event seeks to raise public awareness about voluntary blood donation that is being pushed by the World Health Organization.
The country is supporting the campaign, as evidenced by the passage of the Republic Act 7719 or the National Blood Service Act in 1994, which encourages Filipinos to donate their blood voluntarily and mandates the closure of commercial blood banks to prevent the spread of blood-borne diseases like Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), hepatitis B and malaria.
The Department of Health (DOH) and the Philippine National Red Cross have warned that paid donors are "high risk" because they usually conceal their real health condition, putting the recipients of their blood at risk.
Manalaysay said paid donors usually charge P300 to P700 — with pimps receiving P100 to P200 of the donors’ take — for one pint of blood that they supposedly "donate."
"Buyers could even bargain for the price. If the paid donors sense that the buyer is poor, they lower it to P300," she added.
The actual price of such blood is P550 — covering the cost of blood bags, the reagents used to process and test the fluid, fees of the medical technologist and other charges.
Manalaysay maintained that paid donors get away with their modus operandi because they pose as relatives of the patients when they are interviewed by hospital staff before blood is taken from them.
She pointed out that the amount of blood taken from paid donors serves as the "replacement" for that infused into the patient from the hospital’s blood bank, even though the government’s idea is for blood to be freely donated.
The DOH, meanwhile, has intensified its call for Filipinos to get involved in voluntary blood donation as the agency expects an increased demand for hemoglobin during the rainy season because of dengue, a disease spread by a species of low-flying, day-biting mosquitoes that thrive in clean but stagnant water.
This has prompted the DOH to ask the public to eliminate possible breeding sites for these mosquitoes. Health officials said people should properly dispose of empty cans and used tires; replace the water in flower vases regularly; and clean out the roof gutter of debris, which may collect water. They warned that three mosquito larvae can grow into adulthood in stagnant water contained in the crown of a softdrink bottle.
Dengue is characterized by the abrupt onset of fever, body pains and skin rashes. This disease can prove fatal if the patient develops massive bleeding.