LA TRINIDAD, Benguet — This highland province ended the country’s Blood Donor’s Month with a red-letter day, as it surpassed its target of 100 donors for its blood donation activity on Tuesday.
The activity’s initiators, the Benguet Blood Council and Benguet Red Cross Chapter, counted a total of 130 persons for the last day of blood donation for the month, collecting 58,500 cubic centimeters (cc) of much-needed blood reserve on that day alone.
The blood, gladly donated by Benguet residents, was turned over to the provincial blood council for use of those who need it in the province.
Millennials joined the worthwhile activity, which their acquaintances were talking much about on social media.
Friends Charlotte Suc-a and Lyden Killip, both law students at the University of the Cordilleras (UC), were among the 130 voluntary blood donors. They each donated an average of 450cc of blood on Tuesday’s activity.
“I was touched by the stories I heard from those patients suffering from diabetes,” Killip said. “Their struggle for dialysis kept their hopes to survive and I told myself, why not? I’ll donate blood!“
Killip came to know about the activity last week through Suc-a, her best friend since high school, during a group chat on social media with high school mates.
She said Suc-a, a staff of Sangguniang Panlalawigan Sangguniang Kabataan representative Jeston Balong-angay, posted on their social media group account about the blood donation activity and asked the members who were available and willing to donate blood.
The activity was also marked by the participation of 20 employees of a big department store in this capital town.
The event went with the theme “Be there for someone else. Give blood, share life.”
“We are very thankful for the donors we surpassed our target,” said provincial health officer Dr. Nora Ruiz.
Benguet Red Cross Chapter administrator Oscar Paris expressed gratitude to the volunteers from the district hospitals, municipal health centers, private hospitals, and his staff at the Benguet Red Cross.
He said the Benguet Blood Council is targeting 4,000 blood donors this year. **Primo Agatep/PNA
