“Share blood, save lives”

CITY of BALANGA, Bataan – On its third wave, 36 blood bags were donated as the Philippine Red Cross-Bataan Chapter together with the Bataan Peninsula Lions Club, jointly executed its 3rd bloodletting project, with the theme “Share Blood, Save Lives”, held at the Bulwagan ng Bayan, Capitol Compound, this City, Feb. 2, 2016.

“Ang purpose ng activity na ito ay para magkaroon ng available bags of blood para sa mga may sakit. It will also add awareness para sa mga donors na instead na noon ay natatakot silang mag-donate, once na maranasan na nila, na-e-educate sila na very beneficial pala para sa kanila ang pag-do-donate,” said Ma. Cristina M. Garcia, founder of the said donation program.

Ms. Garcia also disclosed that this event is a project for a cause that instead of celebrating her birthday, she engaged herself in spearheading a blood donation drive in partnership with the Red Cross and Bataan Peninsula Lions Club where she is the Vice-President.

Meanwhile, Sah-awan Guzman, 24 years old, and one of the donors in the said event, advised others who are not yet aware of the impact of this donation activity, saying “Huwag dapat matakot dahil hindi lang sarili nila ang natutulungan nila kundi pati iba.”

This drive is more beneficial to the ones who donated their 450 cc blood than to recipients since according to Ms. Garcia, once you donate, your bone marrow will produce new blood which in turn, will keep your immune system much stronger, and eventually will not let you be prone to cancer.

“Dahil sa activity na ito, nagiging mabilis ang pagtugon sa mga nangangailangan ng dugo. Ipe-present lang nila yung Blood Donor’s Card sa tanggapan naminand in case may stock, mare-release-an agad sila,”Jeane Rose Cacabilos, PhilippineRed Cross-Bataan Chapter volunteer nurse, concluded.

The requirements for a person to qualify as a blood donor are: one has to be physically fit, has the right amount of sleep, not drunk, and is not a smoker. Furthermore, the steps to be undertaken during the bloodletting are: Step 1- Registration and Interview, 2- Vital signs, 3- Bloodtyping and Hemoglobin Check, 4- Physical Exam and finally, 5- Blood Extraction.

From the staff of 1Bataan, we wish you more blessings and more birthdays to come, Ma’am Cris!