BAGUIO CITY –January and February are the leanest months for blood donation in this city and there are many patients needing blood transfusion.
With this, the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) Baguio City chapter is earnestly appealing to kind-hearted individuals to donate blood now.
Annie Tamayo, PRC Baguio administrator, said that they received a lot of demand for blood but there is no stock in their blood bank.
“We do our best to go out for blood donation activities but I do not know the reason why in the months of January and February, we observe a few blood donors,” Tamayo said.
“We urge walk-in blood givers to come to the PRC office, we are open 24 hours,” she added.
The blood collected, will be processed in a laboratory. The donated blood will be stored in blood banks to be used by patients needing transfusion, Tamayo said.
Dr. Jasmin Reyes-Igama, cancer and blood diseases specialist and a former Red Cross-Baguio board of director, explained that donating blood regularly benefits not only the recipient but the donor as well. Blood donation helps the donor shed extra calories. It can also reduce blood cholesterol level.
After donating blood, the number of blood cells in the body decreases, which stimulates the bone marrow to produce new, fresh red blood cells in order to replenish the loss, Igama said. Blood donation also reduces the risk of heart disease and gives the donor the chance to have a free check of blood pressure and cholesterol levels – two of the major risk factors of heart diseases.
Donors also get the chance to have free screening of their blood type, she added. **JDP/JBZ- PIA CAR
