I wonder what happened to the government program that aims to promote voluntary blood donation among young people.
About five years ago, health authorities said voluntary blood donation will be integrated to the lessons taught in public high school and state universities.
According to then Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, lessons about voluntary blood donation will help foster a positive attitude towards the sacrificial act.
The school-based program, if materializes, primarily seeks to encourage more volunteer blood donors.
In 2006, the partial blood collections in the Philippines were placed at 500,000 or 65 percent of the target.
At the time, the government intends to collect blood from 1 percent of the total 85 million population or 800,000 persons.
Safe blood supply, according the health experts, is especially needed during the lean months of April, May, June, November, December and January, when blood collection is low.
It was also around 2006 that the government through the National Voluntary Blood Services Program has started the centralization of blood testing and component processing in several blood centers in the country to ensure safety of donated blood.
Here are some of the blood centers that volunteer donors can visit. The Philippine Children’s Medical Center in Quezon City; the Bicol Blood Center in Legaspi City; the Region 7 Blood Center in Cebu for the Visayas; and the Davao Blood Center for Mindanao. (These list is not updated, there could be more blood centers that have been added to the list.)
The World Blood Donor Day is observed yearly to pay tribute to voluntary, unpaid donors who have saved the lives of those in need.