Cebu Bloodletting Drive Yields Over 300 bags, Demand for Blood in Cebu Rising Amidst COVID-19

Bloodletting drives in various parts of Cebu organized by the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV) and the Department of Health (DOH) have yielded a total of 321 bags of blood.

The campaign “Donate Blood, Save Lives, Be a Hero” is a direct response to the rising demand for blood in Cebu due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), according to Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, DOH-Central Visayas chief pathologist and spokesperson for Covid-19. The yielded blood bags will also be used to augment the supply of blood banks in preparation for the rainy season when dengue cases experience a spike.

Talisay City donated 10 bags of blood on Monday. Mandaue City gave at least 110 bags of blood, with another 30 bags coming from members of the police force. Balamban will also have a bloodletting drive on July 23-24.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD-7) also provided support to the bloodletting drive through the distribution of PHP159,193 worth of food packs to those who joined mobile bloodletting activities, according to regional director Rebecca Geamala, via PNA.

Geamala thanked all the donors and said that donating blood is a heroic act where it is given to those in dire need.

“These people, they are also in need, but they choose to give more by donating blood. The food packs we gave to them is nothing compared to what they shared. And we are all participating in helping one another,” she said in a statement. (GFB)