An Action to Address a National Epidemic

AN ACTION TO ADDRESS A NATIONAL EPIDEMIC Blood Donation Drive conducted in response to Dengue outbreak

By ANNA PHILIPPA G. NAVA

lasted the entire day, starting from 9AM and continued until the afternoon.

Before they donated their blood, the employees had to undergo the necessary procedures to verify whether they are eligible blood donors or not. Once they were deemed eligible, they were instructed to lie down to start the process.

Blood donation drives are important especially to aid those who are ill and are in need of blood transfusions.

Drives are conducted in order to increase blood reserves and ensure that blood is available and accessible for those who need it at all times.

Donating blood can be a scary experience if you’re afraid of needles and can be daunting if you’ve heard of stories where the donors faint, but if you’re willing and generous to make a donation that could save a life, then it’s surely going to be a life-changing experience.

Last year, the Philippines saw its worst dengue outbreak since 2012. There were around 271,400 recorded cases in 2019 from January to August alone, prompting the Department of Health and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council to proclaim a national dengue epidemic. This is in comparison to the 187,031 cases recorded back in 2012.

In response to the alarming number of cases and to the Declaration of the National Dengue Epidemic, the DOH conducted a “Nationwide Defeat Dengue Blood Drive in Support to Dengue Patients” blood drive, a drive for voluntary blood donation to augment the needed blood and blood products. It’s an effort by the department to curb the amount of cases and to provide sufficient and timely access to blood and its by-products to patients who need immediate transfusion.

In support and to ensure the success of the DOH nationwide drive, the Department of Public Works and Highways Regional Office VI conducted the DPWH Regional Office Blood Donation Drive on October 25, 2019.

By the request of the DOH for the participation of the DPWH, interested employees from the Regional Office and from the District Engineering Offices (DEOs) were directed to donate blood for the drive, which