VSMMC now appeals for breastmilk donors

After an overwhelming turnout for blood donation drives, medical authorities and volunteers are now urgently appealing for human milk donors to support infants most vulnerable in the ongoing crisis following the recent 6.9-magnitude earthquake in Northern Cebu.

- 

Over the course of two days, October 2 and 3, more than 1,100 individuals responded to the call for blood, resulting in 860 units collected at Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) alone.

These donations are being distributed free of charge to patients in need, in line with the Department of Health’s Zero Balance Billing (ZBB) policy.

Additional mobile blood drives organized by the DOH Subnational Blood Center for Visayas yielded another 475 units across multiple sites, including the DOH CVCHD, Zuellig Pharma Corp., WCE Balamban, and community centers in Basak-Pardo and Talisay.

A separate campaign gathered 173 more units, bringing the total to more than 1,500 units of blood collected in just three days.