ZAMBOANGA CITY -- The Zamboanga City Blood Council (ZCBC) has embarked on

information campaign to encourage the public, especially the barangays, to regularly donate
blood.

Maria Christine Lim, ZCBC program coordinator, on Tuesday said this came about as only 33
out of the 98 barangays were regularly conducting blood letting activity despite an ordinance that
establish City/Barangay Blood Councils.

City Ordinance No. 336 seeks to establish the City/Barangay Blood Councils and prescribe the
rules and regulations for its effective implementation in Zamboanga city.

The ordinance was enacted on July 24, 2008 and approved on August 8 of same year.

It was aimed to institutionalize the provision of Republic Act No. 7719 otherwise known as the
National Blood Services Act of 1994.

Lim said one of the hindrances in the mobile blood donation was that there were residents afraid
to donate blood.

Those qualified to donate blood are individuals aged 18 to 65, weighing 50 kilograms with
normal blood pressure, and hemoglobin count not less than 125 gm/ml.

Lim said they had coordinated with the Liga ng Mga Barangay to encourage all of the barangays
to conduct their respective mobile blood donations.

“We have to inculcate the value to be there for others. We will not have problem on blood supply
if all healthy individuals will donate blood and all barangays will conduct mobile blood
donations” she said.

Aside from helping others, she added that donating blood also stimulated the bone marrow to
produce new blood cells “making our blood forming organs function more effectively.”

Meanwhile, Lim is also encouraging the barangays to come up with a registry system that will
serve as blood directory.

She said the directory was useful in times of emergency since it would serve as guide what types
of blood were readily available in the community. (PNA)