Gordon lauds Rotary Club for donating a blood bank in Laguna

Senator Richard J. Gordon (Ind.) today commended the Rotary Club of Calamba City for donating a two-storey blood bank in Calamba City, Laguna to the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC).

Gordon, PNRC chairman, said the opening of a blood bank in Calamba, Laguna will make it easier for residents of Laguna and other nearby provinces to have access to blood bank services.

"The construction of a blood bank in Laguna will be a big help to the operation of the Red Cross and to the people of Laguna and other nearby provinces. With a blood bank in Laguna, people from the Calabarzon need not go to Metro Manila to get blood," he said.

"Dapat nating i-build up ang ating blood bank para lagi tayong may sapat na supply ng dugo. It is also important that we always have a blood bank na handang magsilbi sa ating bayan," he added.

The Rotary Club of Calamba City, represented by its president, Rommel Esmile, entered into an agreement with the Laguna provincial government to allow the construction of a blood bank on a 180-square meter lot owned by the Dr. Jose P. Rizal Memorial District Hospital in Calamba.

Esmile said the P2.5-million blood bank would be equipped with refrigerators, freezers and laptops, among others, when they finally turn it over to the PNRC.

He added they already have the initial fund for the construction, which came from a matching grant from District 380 of Rotary Club International. They are organizing fund-raising activities, such as golf tournaments, to generate the remaining amount needed.

Gordon explained that by the year 2010, only the Department of Health (DOH) and the PNRC would be the only organizations authorized to collect and distribute blood.

Therefore, he added, there should be Red Cross blood banks with adequate supply of blood in every region or in every city, if possible. The Red Cross presently operates 50 blood banks nationwide.