MANILA, Philippines - Almost two decades after Republic Act 7719 or the National Blood Service Act of 1994 was passed, the country is now close to accomplishing 100-percent voluntary blood donation, the Department of Health (DOH) said over the weekend.
Dr. Andres Bonifacio, DOH acting director for the Philippine Blood Center, said the global standard to measure 100-percent voluntary blood donation is that one percent of the population should be doing it.
“That is the definition of sustainability of blood. So if our population is 90 million, it is translated to 900,000 donors. We already achieved 0.8 percent so we are close to our target,” he said.
The law was passed to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS and other blood-borne diseases like hepatitis B, malaria and syphilis. Because of the law, the DOH shut down commercial blood banks in the country in 2008.
“We closed all commercial blood banks. This was a paradigm shift to voluntary blood donation because we know that this is the safest source of blood for Filipinos,” Bonifacio told The STAR.
Annually, the Philippines needs 450,000 units of blood to ensure enough supply. Donated blood is processed into plasma and platelets that are required by patients, depending on their conditions.
According to Philippine Red Cross secretary-general Gwendolyn Pang, blood transfusion is done in surgeries, particularly open-heart procedures, dialysis, and obstetrical cases like birth delivery during caesarian operation.