REALIZING the shortage and the continuous need of medical establishments for sanitary items such as ethyl alcohol, the University of Immaculate Conception (UIC) in Davao City made their own 80 percent ethyl alcohol hand sanitizers from their own resources and donated it to Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC).
In a joint statement sent to SunStar Davao by Dr. Cleofe Badang, BS Chemistry coordinator and Kathleen Olaño, dean of the College of Pharmacy and Chemistry, they said they were initially planning to prepare hand sanitizers from a technical grade ethyl alcohol with 95 percent purity claim. They waited for days for the result of the purity test of their alcohol first before trying out the formula.
“After waiting, it turned out that the ‘alcohol’ did not pass the required concentration and it contains a high amount of methanol. We were disheartened because we were all in the lab ready to prepare but our raw materials did not pass the standard,” they said.
But this did not stop them from their desire to help. Finding out that they still have a few stocks left of absolute alcohol (ACS/ISO), they immediately asked permission from their University President, who then gave the go signal for the initiative. It was last Friday, April 3, that they spent an entire day in the lab making the 80 percent ethyl alcohol hand sanitizers following the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO).
“We knew of the WHO guideline on hand sanitizer as it is all over the internet. As
pharmacists and chemists, it’s our way of contributing to this Covid-19 fight – using our knowledge and expertise on chemical and pharmaceutical preparation,” they added.
With their limited resources, they were able to make 12 liters of the hand sanitizers. Right after finishing, they brought the items to SPMC knowing that the hospital needs it the most as it is the only hospital in Davao City tasked to handle positive cases of Covid-19.
The college also called out to other Dabawenyos who would want to donate their stock 95 percent ethanol in their homes or warehouses. They said the school would be more than willing to prepare the hand sanitizers which can then be donated to other frontliners who would need these items.
They warned other people who make their own alcohol and sanitizers by watching Youtube videos. As the intentions may be good, it can harm other people who are not experts and are not familiar with the consequences of the chemicals mixed together.
“Before we make some actions, let us make sure that it is done in the right way. Please do not mix chemicals in the household just because you saw it on Youtube. Leave the preparation to the experts and follow only legitimate sources like the WHO, Food and Drugs Administration, and some authorized organization,” they said.