MANILA, Philippines - The most tragic stories are real-life narratives about people plagued with sickness, hit by accidents, or devastated by natural disaster.
In light of such heartbreaking moments, the Philippine Red Cross blood donation program hopes to turn more and more of these tragedies into stories with positive endings.
The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) established its first mission in 1948 when former First Lady Aurora Aragon Quezon pioneered the construction of a systemized national blood program to aid people who were in need.
Currently, the Philippine Red Cross, under the helm of Sen. Richard Gordon, has managed to move forward with 86 blood facilities in operation across the country.
Every day, 1,200 blood donors come to these blood facilities to contribute what they can to save other people’s lives. While 600 patients are helped on a daily basis, however, PRC still struggles to meet the demand.
In 2016, the Philippine Red Cross managed to provide more than half of the nation’s demand. An accumulated 500,000 units of blood supplied 200,000 patients during the year.
The reality is that the blood donation program of the Philippine Red Cross still cannot cover demand.
To meet the shortfall, PRC conducts daily mobile blood donation activities. It has also extended its program to partners and launched the Blood Samaritan program, which aims to fund the processing fees of legitimate indigent patients.
For the youth, PRC is able to build partnerships to expand their cause not only in the community but also to schools. Through Red Cross Youth, the young ones now have a channel to extend their helping hand by organizing bloodletting programs in schools and in universities.
For 2017, the Philippine Red Cross has 93,000 units of blood thus far, but this absolutely cannot help all those who are in need.
Patients whose stories never touched their happy endings are those whom Philippine Red Cross wasn’t able to help. After all, one spoon cannot possibly feed two mouths.
You can give patients their happy endings by donating blood. Blood donations cost nothing but time. A few minutes can extend one’s life for years.
Your blood donation can give light to those stories that are in their darkest chapters.
To donate, please call the Philippine Red Cross through 790-2300. n