‘Blood supply enough amid dengue outbreak’

MANILA, Philippines — Amid the outbreak of dengue in various parts of the country, the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) assured the public yesterday that there is enough supply of blood for patients afflicted with the mosquito-borne disease.

In a statement, PRC Chairman Richard Gordon said the agency’s 93 blood service facilities nationwide are working “double-time to ensure the availability of blood supply, especially plasma and cryoprecipitate.”

These blood products are used to prevent hemorrhagic complications associated with dengue.

“We keep track of the supplies in all our blood facilities in the country. In the event the blood supply in a specific facility drops to a critical level, we will know immediately which nearby facility can provide additional products,” he noted.

Recently, PRC’s National Blood Services shipped a total of 165 units of frozen blood products to augment the supply in Iloilo and Aklan, two of the provinces hardest hit by the outbreaks.

According to Gordon, they have also set up medical tents in Western Visayas to assist the Department of Health (DOH) in managing the dengue crisis.

Two of the deployed hospital tents, with a total bed capacity of 40, are in Jesus M. Colmenares District Hospital in Balasan, Iloilo, which is currently accommodating over 250 patients against its actual bed capacity of 25. – With Paolo Romero