ILOILO CITY, Philippines — When a major accident, typhoon, disease outbreak or other emergency strikes, hospitals may have little time to search for blood donors.
That is why authorities in Western Visayas are pushing local governments to treat blood supply not merely as a hospital concern, but as an essential part of disaster preparedness.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government in Western Visayas has urged local government units across the region to regularly support voluntary blood donation programs and incorporate them into their emergency response, public health and community resilience strategies.
DILG Region 6 director Juan Jovian Ingeniero issued a memorandum encouraging provincial and city directors to work with LGUs, the Philippine Red Cross and licensed blood service facilities to organize blood donation activities and mobilize more voluntary donors.
The message behind the directive is straightforward: emergency plans involving evacuation centers, rescue equipment and medical teams may still face a critical weakness if hospitals suddenly run short of blood.
Blood Is Becoming Part of the Disaster-Readiness Conversation
Ingeniero, whose agency serves as vice chair for disaster preparedness of the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said having sufficient blood available can strengthen a community’s ability to respond before, during and after emergencies.
Blood and blood products are routinely required for trauma patients, surgical procedures and other serious medical conditions. During disasters or mass-casualty incidents, demand can increase rapidly.
The World Health Organization made the same point during World Blood Donor Day 2026, stressing that blood transfusion is essential not only for accidents and emergencies but also for childbirth complications, major surgery, cancer treatment and inherited blood disorders.
WHO also emphasized a fundamental challenge: blood cannot be manufactured and has a limited shelf life, meaning a reliable supply depends on people donating regularly rather than communities waiting until a shortage has already developed.
The organization specifically called for more regular voluntary donors so health systems can handle both everyday medical demand and sudden surges caused by disasters and emergencies.
Iloilo Faces a 25,000-Unit Target
The regional appeal comes as the Philippine Red Cross-Iloilo Chapter continues working toward an annual collection goal of approximately 25,000 blood units.
Panay News reported that the chapter had collected more than 10,000 units as of June 2026, leaving significant work to reach the year’s target.
The 25,000-unit benchmark is not new.
PRC-Iloilo Blood Center Manager Dr. Carlo Nolan Carado said in a January 2025 interview that the chapter aims to collect at least 25,000 units annually to maintain adequate supply. At the time, the chapter was supplying blood to 26 hospitals in Iloilo province.
That same report showed what can happen when community participation is strong: PRC-Iloilo collected roughly 31,000 blood units in 2024, surpassing its annual target. Hospitals’ major sources of demand included obstetric and surgical patients.
The challenge is sustaining that level of donation year after year.
What Blood Products Are Most Needed?
According to data cited by Panay News from PRC-Iloilo, frequently requested blood products include:
Packed Red Blood Cells (PRBCs), commonly used when patients need additional red blood cells; whole blood; platelet concentrate; and Fresh Frozen Plasma (FFP).
These different components illustrate why simply counting the number of blood bags available does not tell the entire story. Hospitals may require specific blood groups and specific components depending on a patient’s condition.
And shortages can develop quickly when demand rises.
Earlier this month, for example, the Philippine Red Cross-Cebu Chapter described its supply as sufficient but only around its minimum safe level, as Cebu dealt with increased demand associated with dengue cases.
The Cebu situation is separate from Western Visayas, but it demonstrates the same vulnerability authorities are trying to prevent: a supply that appears adequate during normal conditions can come under pressure when patient demand suddenly increases.
Other LGUs Are Already Linking Blood Drives to Disaster Readiness
Western Visayas is not alone in treating blood donation as an emergency-preparedness measure.
In Naga City, hundreds of volunteers from all 27 barangays, along with police, military personnel, civic organizations and youth groups, joined a citywide blood donation campaign in June 2026 specifically framed as part of strengthening disaster preparedness and the city’s emergency blood supply.
In Quezon province, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office partnered with the Philippine Red Cross and provincial health authorities for a July 21 blood donation drive under the theme “Disaster Preparedness and Blood Supply, Ensuring Lifesaving Readiness.”
The Department of Health has likewise continued mobile blood donation programs with LGUs and partner organizations in several regions, including the Zamboanga Peninsula.
Together, those initiatives point toward a broader shift: blood inventories are increasingly being viewed as another resource communities must secure before emergencies happen.
Philippine Law Already Gives LGUs a Role
The push also has a longstanding legal foundation.
Under Republic Act No. 7719, or the National Blood Services Act of 1994, the government is mandated to promote voluntary blood donation and work toward an adequate, safe and equitable supply of blood and blood products.
The law specifically includes local government units and barangays among the sectors expected to support voluntary blood donation campaigns. It also promotes blood collection in communities, schools, workplaces, barangays and military camps.
In areas where blood-banking facilities are inadequate, the law even provides for maintaining lists of qualified voluntary donors who can be contacted when blood is urgently required.
Three decades later, DILG Region 6’s latest appeal effectively brings that principle into the modern disaster-preparedness framework.
The Goal: Build the Supply Before the Emergency
For potential donors in Iloilo, PRC officials said qualified residents are screened before blood collection to determine whether donation is safe for both the donor and recipient.
Panay News reported that the PRC-Iloilo Chapter is encouraging healthy qualified residents to donate at its facility on Bonifacio Drive in Iloilo City or through organized donation activities.
But the larger challenge now rests with communities and local governments.
Regular barangay drives, partnerships with workplaces and schools, donor recruitment campaigns and integration with local disaster plans could help turn blood donation from an occasional charitable event into part of a permanent emergency-readiness system.
Because during the next major accident, disease surge or disaster, the most important blood donation may not be the one organized afterward.
It may be the one collected weeks before anyone knew it would be needed.
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