Atin Ito First Filipino Community Newspaper in Ontario
A total of 271 blood bags were collected from a bloodletting activity conducted by Serving Hearts Charity, a nonprofit organization, in they City of Manila on Sunday, Sept. 10.
The 271 bags or 108,000 cubic centimeters (cc) of blood were collected from approximately 600 individuals who traveled from different parts of the country to donate their blood.
Each donor underwent a thorough screening to make sure he or she is qualified to thier blood during the activity.
Only 30 percent of the collected bloods will go to Serving Hearts, while 70 percent will be allocated to its hospital partners.
The organization gave every blood donor a donor’s card that can be used to request up to two bags of blood for free, whenever they are in need.
The bags will be delivered by Serving Heart’s “blood riders” safely to the blood donors.
Today’s blood-letting activity is a tribute to Adriatico “Akok” Tan Tee, one of the late members of Serving Hearts, who died in September 2021.
Serving Hearts Charity Inc.
Serving Hearts Charity Inc. is a duly registered non-profit organization of volunteers who have conducted simultaneous blood drives in the Philippines since 2017.
It has saved more than 300,000 lives since January 2021 and has partnered with various nonprofit organizations and more than 20 local hospitals.
Some of the charity’s members and volunteers are polio and cancer survivors, and persons with disabilities (PWDs).
According to Jackielyn Santos, the chairman of Serving Hearts and a cancer survivor, they used to have bloodletting activities only every Sunday but now they are organizing simultaneous drives six to 12 times a week in different cities in Metro Manila.
Santos said they have scheduled their next blood drives until March next year.
Santos’ passion for blood donation and awareness started when she was 14 years old.
Her advocacy developed even more after surviving cancer twice.
During her medication, she said she struggled finding a match for her blood type O-negative, which is rare and in high demand as only seven percent of the population has it.
Scholarships and Fundraising Projects
Apart from blood service, Serving Hearts has several college scholars and fundraising projects for cancer patients.
It has sold over 10,000 tote bags for a four-year-old leukemia patient, while 21 students graduated from college through the organization’s generosity.
It also helps some patients undergo surgery by providing financial aid and endorsing them to public and private hospitals.
Errol Cruz, a member of the charity group’s Board of Directors, reiterated that they don’t gain any financial returns from the projects. He said that the smiles of the people whose lives they have saved– are more than enough.
Serving Hearts encouraged the public to donate blood and become one of the charity’s volunteers in reaching members of the community, providing care to patients and donors, and helping manage blood donation sessions.
Interested individuals may reach Serving Hearts through 09178583423, or visit its Facebook page.
— Diann Ivy C. Calucin
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Credit belongs to: www.mb.com.ph
