PBC naglunsad ng bagong paraan ng pagbibigay ng dugo.
Ni: Jonnalyn Cortez
INILUNSAD ng Philippine Blood Center (PBC) ang apheresis, isang bagong paraan ng pagbibigay ng dugo upang mas mapadali ang pagtanggap ng mga donasyon at pagbibigay nito ng dugo sa mga nangangailangan.
Isa lamang ito sa ilan pang pamamaraan na ilulunsad ng PBC ngayong taon upang makapagligtas ng mas maraming buhay sa pamamagitan ng libreng dugo at iba pang blood products.
Ano ang apheresis?
Ginagamitan ng apheresis machine ang mga dugong nakalap mula sa donors. Sa pamamagitan nito, kinukuha lamang ang kinakailangang blood element mula sa donor. Ibinabalik naman nito ang lahat ng nakuhang dugo pagkatapos ng proseso.
“A cancer patient may need eight units of plasma in a week. Now, with apheresis, we can get six to eight random platelet donors in one procedure only,” paliwanag ng PBC in-house at Apheresis Department officer Ivan Romero. “This makes things easier and more people get helped.”
Sinimulan ng PBC ang in-house Apheresis Department noong Hulyo 2016. Sa mga unang buwan ng paggamit nito, sinabi ni Romero na ginagawa lamang ang proseso kapag kinakailangan. Kumokolekta lamang sila ng apheresis blood kapag mayroong nanghingi nito.
“We were able to collect 129 platelet units. Then, in 2017, we improved our facilities and, we hired additional personnel so we were able to increase to 236 units. From January to November 2018, we made continuous improvements and we were able to collect 417 units,” pagmamalaki ni Romero.
PBC hinihikayat ang mga taong mag-donate ng dugo.
Blood donation requirements
Maaring magbigay ng dugo para sa apheresis ang sinomang interesedo rito, ngunit ayon kay Romero, kailangan muna silang dumaan sa isang screen test.
“Our requirement for apheresis blood donors is a bit special,” sabi nito.
“We want someone who’s a regular donor or has donated blood at least once, we also prefer males over females because they have bigger volume, so they produce more blood and they also have bigger veins which don’t rupture right away.”
Sinabi naman ng PBC screening officer at medical doctor April Andal na mayroong ilang kondisyon na maaaring hindi muna pansamantalang makapagbibigay ng dugo ang mga dati ng donors.
Kabilang dito ang pagbubuntis, mataas na lagnat, kamakailang pag-inom ng alak, butas sa tenga o iba pang bahagi ng katawan, kamakailang pagpapaopera, kamakailang pagpapalinis ng mukha, acupuncture, at history ng pagbisita sa mga lugar na apektado ng malaria.
“There are also permanent conditions like cancer, cardiac disease, lung disease, hepatitis B and C, HIV infection, AIDS, STD (sexually transmitted disease), high-risk occupation, unexplained weight loss of more than 5 kilos in six months, leukemia, hemophilia, trauma and transplant,” dagdag ni Andal.
“We do this for the safety of both donors and recipients.”
Maaaring magbigay ng platelets ng hanggang 24 na beses ang isang tao sa pamamagitan ng apheresis. Ligtas ito dahil na rin sa dalawang linggong pagitan ng bawat donasyon.
“The downside here is the procedure itself because it’s long, it takes around one and a half hours to two hours per collection so we make our donors feel comfortable by giving them food and we let them watch movies,” sabi ni Romero.
APHERESIS machine na ginagamit sa pagpili ng kinukuhang dugo.
Paghihikayat sa mga blood donors
Nagsagawa ng isang open forum ang PBC para sa mga partner nitong ahensya ng gobyerno at mga pribadong organisasyon upang makapaghikayat pa ng mas maraming tao na magbigay ng dugo sa pamamagitan ng apheresis.
“Our goal in PBC is to have enough blood supply in all hospitals in the country and we cannot do this without the help of our donors,” pahayag ni PBC Donor Management officer-in-charge Melanie Sionzon.
Dagdag pa niya, madalas biktima ng mga natural na kalamidad ang mga Pilipino dahil na rin nasa Pacific Ring of Fire ang bansa, kaya naman marami ang nangangailangan ng dugo o blood transfusion.
“Apart from natural disasters, there are also emergencies. In 2017, almost 1 million lives have been affected by them and we need an adequate supply for all these, plus traumas due to road accidents,” sabi ni Sionzon.
Binanggit naman ni Andal na maaari ring magbigay ng dugo ang mga persons with disability (PWDs).
“We don’t discriminate PWDs but we do check on the origin of the disability. For example, limping or inability to walk could have been caused by the cardiac problem, which is a disqualification already because if we pursue with the blood donation there could be a health problem,” paliwanag ni Andal.
APHERESIS Summit.
Mga bagong serbisyong darating
Sinabi naman ni PBC head medical doctor Andres Bonifacio na isa lamang ang apheresis sa mga ginagawa ng ahensya upang mas mapabuti pa ang kanilang serbisyo para sa mga taong nangangailangan ng dugo.
“We will have in 2019 the nucleic acid amplification test that would detect applicant donors who are asymptomatic of HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and the Zika virus,” saad nito.
“Actually, we started this when the reagents arrived and this will increase the quality of our blood, blood products but they will still be practically free.”
Dagdag pa niya, ipinangako ni Department of Health Secretary Francisco Duque ang pag subsidize ng nucleic acid amplication test upang hindi tumaas ang presyo ng dugo.
“This is the right time for us to reassert no re-testing because the patients are suffering because re-testing is an out of pocket expense for them,” paliwanag nito.
Inihayag din ni Bonifacio na magkakaroon din ang PBC ng stem cell blood banking ngayong taon, at ang pangunahing makakatanggap nito ay ang mga mahihirap.
“We will share this especially to the marginalized members of society who have cancer and are poor and sick from the Philippine Children’s Medical Center. We will start this in the early part of this year,” dagdag ni Bonifacio.
