EU diplomats donate blood to curb shortage due to pandemic

Thomas Wiersing, head of EU Delegation in the Philippines, during a blood donation activity.

MANILA, Philippines — Various European Union (EU) ambassadors and diplomats took part in a blood donation activity, geared at addressing a shortage in blood supply due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The head of the EU delegation in the Philippines, Thomas Wiersing, donated blood along with Ambassadors Saskia de Lang (Netherlands), Harald Fries (Sweden), Chargé d’Affaires Mihail Sion (Romania), Spanish Consul General Fernando Heredia, and other members of the Belgian and Dutch Embassies.

The bloodletting drive was conducted in partnership with the Philippine Red Cross, which has partnered with EU in several occasions.

“In response to the call of the Philippine Red Cross for blood donation, we have all come here to donate our blood to avert shortage of supply created by the pandemic,” Wiersing said in a statement.

“We continue to express our support as “we heal as one” community. We believe that together we can fight this pandemic,” he added.

This is not the first time that EU and Red Cross extended a hand to the country, as they have provided donations during the Taal Volcano explosion and other calamities.

As of Tuesday, the Philippines registered 47,873 confirmed COVID-19 cases, the second-highest infection rates in  Southeast Asia.  Of this number, 1,309 patients have died while 12,386 have recovered.

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