Catan: Stable Blood Supply in Cebu Province
Cebu Province’s blood supply is now more reliable as compared to the previous years, assured Cebu Provincial Health Office (PHO) Chief Dr. Rene Catan.
In an interview over radio DyCM, Catan explained that his office is mandated to collect 100 units of blood to meet the minimum critical requirement for Cebu Province.
“Sa pagkakaron (At present), we are in much, much better on the situation of blood in the province, as compared to the previous years,” said Catan.
“We are mandated to collect blood all over Cebu Province, so that at any one point in time we have a 100 units of blood in the province,” said Catan.
In the recent medical mission organized by the Capitol, Catan said it has collected at least 106 bags of blood coming from screened donors. One bag contained 500 cubic centimeters (cc).
In Cebu, there are four provincial hospitals that served as blood stations. These provincial hospitals are in Balamban town and in the cities of Carcar, Bogo and Danao.
Catan said that these four blood stations have the capacity to store plasma that can also share their stocks to other district medical facilities, whenever needed.
He added that the blood collecting units is going around the province to ensure ample supply.
“And these blood supplies will be shared among the Provincial hospitals,” he said.
Blood is important for the day-to-day operation of the hospital since medical practitioners cannot perform surgical procedures without adequate blood supply, Catan said, adding that surgeons dare not perform operations without it.
As part of its health agenda, Gov. Hilario P. Davide III plans to establish more blood stations in the north, south and central Cebu to source out necessary blood requirements for its four provincial and 12 district hospitals.
Last July 2017, Davide and the Philippine Red Cross inked a partnership agreement to build a blood center in a district hospital in south Cebu that would address the increasing demand for blood, and to help supplement the country’s blood needs.
Today, countries around the world will celebrate the “World Blood Donor Day.” The event aims to raise awareness on the need for blood.
The activity is also a way of thanking blood donors for their voluntary, life-saving gifts of blood.
The World Blood Donor Day, established in 2004, is one of the eight official global public health campaigns marked by the World Health Organization.
Image source: http://www.cebu.gov.ph
