THE supplies of blood have dramatically decreased during the pandemic in many countries including the Philippines, according to the Philippine Red Cross Cavite Chapter.
With the restrictions lifted, mobile blood donations are gradually being held again this year in response to the growing need for blood reserves.
Last May, the Philippine Red Cross Cavite Chapter and New Heaven New Earth (NHNE) Church of Jesus Philippines kicked off the “Life-ON: Life Sharing Blood Donation Campaign.” A total of 65 bags of blood were collected during the first wave of donations held in Silang, Cavite.
The campaign was first launched by the headquarter church of NHNE in South Korea, participated by over 18,000 church members and non-government organization volunteers, the largest group blood donation recorded in the country. This resolved the national blood shortage that has been ongoing since the beginning of this year, according to the Blood Management Center of the Korean Red Cross.
During the early stage of Covid-19 pandemic when there was no vaccine available yet, the recovered members from the group also participated in the nationwide blood plasma donation drive while suffering from the aftereffects of Covid-19. The collected 6,000 plasma donations were used for the development of a treatment for the severely infected patients.
“Through your organization, we were able to widen the coverage of the participants and prospective blood donors. Blood donation is an act of altruism so we are really expecting individuals to donate blood because blood cannot be manufactured,” said Rowell Jarin, the understudy to the chapter administrator and donor recruitment officer of PRC Cavite Chapter.
“Donating blood is something that should be innate to us as humans because this is our service to our fellowmen and of course, to our God,” Jarin added.
According to Jarin, the largest blood donation drive they facilitated, along with other chapters of PRC, collected over 600 bags of blood with 269 coming from the Cavite chapter.
PRC Cavite Chapter and NHNE Philippines officially signed partnership through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on June 1, 2022. The MOU aims to establish a framework of cooperation particularly in the blood donation campaign and in holding volunteer training.
Instructor Harold Recio of NHNE Philippines said in an interview: “We hope that this campaign would reach the hearts of every Filipino and create a wave of helping and caring for one another, especially during this challenging time. We are encouraging everyone to join this campaign and help save lives together.”
Organizations who are interested in joining the campaign can schedule their blood donation drive by cooperating with the nearest blood service facility to their area. Individuals may also schedule their blood donation through the Blood Donation Tool on Facebook.
Donors who joined the campaign posted their photos on social media using the hashtags #LifeON #LifeSharingBloodDonationCampaign #WeAreOne.
New Heaven New Earth Church of Jesus, headquartered in Gwacheon, South Korea, is contributing to the communities through volunteer activities including plasma and blood donations. For joint donation drives and partnerships, you may contact NHNE Philippines at 09637823973 or via email: contact.nhneph@gmail.com.