Grand bloodletting day raises 150 blood bags

MORE than 150 blood bags were collected during the grand bloodletting day conducted by the Department of Health, in partnership with Philippine Red Cross on July 28 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Cebu City Sports Complex.

The activity, with the theme “Get involved by choice, for a chance to be a hero, volunteer to share blood” registered at least 156 blood donors from the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Red Cross Cebu, Naval Forces Central, Cebu City Police Office, Central Command and Rotary International.

During the program, Dr. Reynette Ligaray, head of the Department of Health (DOH) Regional Blood Center, said the DOH is just a service provider and the main contributors of this activity are the blood donors. She said donating blood is to share another gift of life to the indigent people who cannot afford to buy blood. “This is a life saving program,” she said referring to the bloodletting.

Dr. Ligaray said the major contributors of blood are the Vicente Soto Hospital and other private hospitals that are not profit-oriented.

Ernest Manching from the Air Force said it was his fourth time to donate blood since 2010. He said he was at first hesitant to donate blood because of the needle inserted on the arm to draw blood. But after his first experience, he said he was eager to donate blood again.

Like Manching, many of the blood donors were afraid of the needle but nonetheless happy to  share their blood and save the lives of other people. /Intern Argie Mae C. Lodovica from Palompon Institute of Technology