AirAsia Philippines, as a culmination to the celebration of the National Heart Month, partnered with the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) in a bloodletting activity at the airline’s RedPoint headquarters in Pasay City.
The activity, with the theme “alwaysREDy mag-alay ng dugo sa buwan ng mga puso”, is under AirAsia’s corporate social responsibility umbrella program alwaysREDy. A total of 36 AirAsia Allstars from different departments of the organization – including the Flight and Cabin Crew Department and the 1st Airlift Reserve Wing – signed up and donated the much-needed medical resource. A total of 36 bags or 16,200cc of blood was collected and sent to the Red Cross blood bank.
AirAsia Philippines Spokesperson Steve Dailisan said, “In crises such as the pandemic, we at AirAsia champion the value of being alwaysREDy to help in areas where aid is critically needed. This National Health Month, we had the privilege of partnering with PRC to enable our Allstars to augment the blood supply of our country. We are optimistic that this blood donation program will benefit our fellow Filipinos who are currently undergoing surgeries and various treatments.”
Since 2020, the Department of Health (DOH) and PRC have been reporting a shortage in blood reserves. Blood donations in the second quarter of 2021 fell 77% due to the ongoing global pandemic, with mobility and vaccination as the main reason for hesitancy according to the Red Cross – National Blood Services. As mobility and capacity restrictions continue to get relaxed and with the imposition of Alert Level 1 in Metro Manila and 38 other local government units, PRC is being more aggressive in partnering with different organizations in order to ensure the sufficiency of the blood supply here in the country. “We thank AirAsia and all the Filipino Allstars that voluntarily donated their blood. Please know that your donation will be of huge help for frontliners who are working tirelessly to save as many lives as possible during this pandemic,” shares Dr. Sheryll Tonelete, National Blood Center Manager of the Philippine Red Cross.
