Amid the current enhanced community quarantine due to Covid-19, personnel of the Baguio Country Club (BCC) responded to the call of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) Baguio City Chapter for blood donation, sharing 24 units equivalent of 10,800 cc of blood.
PRC Baguio administrator Annie Tamayo thanked the BCC blood donors, especially at this time when around 1,000 bloodletting activities all over the country were postponed due to the ECQ.
Tamayo said they receive a lot of demand for blood but they cannot provide the requests because there is no stock in the blood bank.
”Our blood bank is depleted. We are calling for more kindhearted individuals to please donate. We urge walk-in blood givers to come to the PRC office, we are open 24 hours,” she said.
Dr. Jasmin Reyes-Igama, cancer and blood diseases specialist and a former PRC Baguio board director, said donating blood regularly benefits not only the recipient but the donor as well, by helping in shedding extra calories. Donating blood 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 disease.
Donors also get the chance to have free screening of their blood type, she added.
Andrew Pinero, a BCC employee and a regular blood donor, said donating blood is one way of helping those who are in need of blood, especially during trying times. – Joseph B. Zambrano
