SBMA employees lead groups of blood donors
SUBIC BAY FREEPORT - Employees of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) led the groups of blood donors in response to a call by SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma Eisma to join the blood-letting drive held at the SBMA badminton court, recently.
Eisma said stakeholders in the Subic Bay Freeport and nearby communities gave their full support to a Philippine
Red Cross (PRC) project to donate blood, which has become “dangerously running out” during the Covid-19 pandemic.
SBMA deputy administrator for health and safety Ronnie Yambao said the volunteer-donors included agency officials, as well as employees from the SBMA Law Enforcement Department, Treasury Department, and the Office of the Deputy Administrator for Health and Safety.
Volunteers from the community, meanwhile, included 20 members of the Olongapo City police office, and 10 employees each of the Glocke and Philand security agencies operating in the Subic Bay Freeport.
Yambao said the August 28 blood donation project was highly successful as it generated a total of 37 units of blood, or close to 10 liters.
“This will be enough to save 148 lives,” Yambao noted.
This was the second blood donation drive organized by the Olongapo City Red Cross this year. The first one was held in July at Barangay Gordon Heights in Ol ongapo.
Yambao said that another blood drive will be held on October 9 to help the Philippine
Red Cross build up its stockpile of the badly-needed blood.
The PRC had earlier appealed for more blood donations, saying it “faces a shortage of blood supply” during the coronavirus pandemic.
Last June, the PRC said it only has 9,000 bags in its blood bank, as donors were forced to stay at home because of the Covid19 threat.
The PRC needs an average of 12,000 to 13,000 blood bags a day to ensure that it will be able to provide blood in emergency situations nationwide.
(Ric Sapnu)