ILOILO City – The Philippine Red Cross – Iloilo Chapter is appealing for more blood donors as daily demands from patients continue to deplete supplies.
“Our blood extends our lives. Blood is life, so every drop donated is immensely valuable to our patients,” said Dr. Carlo Nolan Carrado, manager of the Western Visayas Regional Blood Center.
While they currently have blood reserves, the daily needs of patients are causing a rapid decrease in the supply, he told Panay News.
Red Cross-Iloilo provides blood to 26 district, government, and private hospitals across the city and province.
Carrado said there is a significant request from obstetrics, gynecology, and surgical patients.
“We have a continuous supply of blood for various hospitals, but our reserves are dwindling due to the constant demand. We urgently need more donors every day,” he told Panay News.
Red Cross-Iloilo’s process requires a blood request from the admitting hospital before directing patients or their families to their respective hospital blood banks to check for available blood units. If unavailable, requests are referred to the Red Cross.
Red Cross-Iloilo charges a minimal processing fee for blood requests — P1,800 for whole blood and P1,000 for plasma and platelets.
As of June 2024, Red Cross-Iloilo has collected 15,280 blood units, over half of their annual target of 25,000 units.
In response to a rise in dengue cases this June, Red Cross-Iloilo has so far received requests for blood from nine individuals and released over 36 units of platelets to dengue patients.
Reflecting on the previous years’ collections, Carrado shared that in 2023, Red Cross-Iloilo collected 29,097 blood units or approximately 13,151,844 liters, serving over 35,000 patients.
The years 2022 and 2021 saw collections of 27,011 and 23,442 blood units, respectively.
Red Cross-Iloilo Chapter is open for blood donations seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at their Bonifacio Drive location. Individuals aged 18 to 60 who are healthy are eligible to donate.
Carrado praised the community’s response, noting that many Ilonggos, local chief executives, and private organizations have actively participated in donation drives.
To ensure a sufficient blood supply, Red Cross-Iloilo conducts mobile blood donations across various barangays and encourages local government units and private organizations to organize bloodletting activities.
World Blood Donor Day was celebrated on June 14, highlighting the global need for blood donations.
According to the World Health Organization, most people can give blood if they are in good health. But there are some basic requirements one need to fulfill to become a blood donor.
The donor must be between 18 and 65 years old and weigh at least 50 kg.
The donor must be in good health. You cannot donate if you have a cold, flu, sore throat, cold sore, stomach bug or any other infection.
If you have recently had a tattoo or body piercing you cannot donate for six months from the date of the procedure. If the body piercing was performed by a registered health professional and any inflammation has settled completely, you can donate blood after 12 hours.
If you have visited the dentist for a minor procedure you must wait 24 hours before donating; for major work wait a month.
You must not give blood if you engaged in “at risk” sexual activity in the past 12 months and/or have ever had a positive test for HIV or injected recreational drugs./PN
