Heroes are often described as people with exceptional abilities and noble qualities. Depending on who you ask one’s hero could be Jose Rizal or Andres Bonifacio who both died for the country. Others would say their kinds of hero are the likes of Thor or Captain America who both possess super-human abilities
However, for a dengue patient or a child suffering from leukemia, he would probably say his greatest hero is the blood donor who helped save his life during the time he needed blood transfusion.
Our family was once put in the same situation, devastated upon learning that one of my younger cousins was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL). ALL is a type of leukemia wherein children aged 1-10 are the most common victims.
We prepared for the worst as my 8-year old cousin started to undergo bone marrow examination, endless lab tests, medication, and chemotherapy.
This could not have been possible without the assistance our family received from the individuals who offered their support by means of blood donation.
In relation to this, our country is currently celebrating Blood Donors’ Month with the theme “Every Blood Donor is a Hero” aiming to increase people’s awareness regarding the significance of voluntary blood donation.
Our province was privileged to have been chosen as the host province for the blood-letting activity for Central Luzon, participated by hundreds of blood donors from the public and private sector.
According to Gwendolyn Pang, secretary general of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), a pint of blood received from every donor could save up to four lives upon deriving different blood components namely, red blood cells or erythrocytes, white blood cells or leukocytes, platelets or thrombocytes, and plasma, all from a single blood bag.
Imagine being able to save, if not lengthen, four lives by just donating a pint of your blood, which could also be beneficial to the donor as studies show regular blood donation helps prevent heart diseases.
I, too, already had the chance of becoming a hero, even if just for a moment, by donating a pint of my blood. I wanted so badly to donate blood when my cousin was still ill, but was unable to for I didn’t pass the stringent screening back then.
Basically, one should have ample sleep, have normal blood pressure, weighs at least 110 lbs., no alcohol intake within 24 hours, and no recent piercings or tattoos before donating blood.
Meanwhile, Governor Lilia “Nanay” Pineda is pushing for the awarding of incentives for blood donors from the indigent sector, as part of her efforts to intensify the blood donation drive in the province as well as providing medical assistance to the poor.
According to the governor, free hospitalization and medication will be given to blood donors or his family members in return for his deed.
“We are willing to give assistance to the blood donor or his family in terms of free hospitalization as an acknowledgement of his volunteerism”, Pineda said.
The Center for Health and Development for Central Luzon (CHD-3), led by Dr. Leonita Gorgolon, is already studying Nanay Gov’s proposal and acknowledged her continuous support for the health projects in the province. Hopefully, through the efforts of the government more people would become aware of the importance of blood donation and our province would have more “heroes”.
(Angelique DC. Tuazon, PIO – Pampanga)
