A year after the board of directors considered the proposal, the Catanduanes Doctors Hospital, Inc. (CDHI) opened the island province’s first blood bank with specialized testing facilities last week.
The Feb. 14, 2025 launching of the blood bank also featured a bloodletting activity, with Talino at Galing ng Pinoy (TGP) Partylist Congressman Jose “Bong” Teves, Jr. and his wife, CDHI Board Chairperson Iluminada Teves, leading the blood donors.
In his message, the TGP representative lauded the launching of the blood bank, noting that public servants and politicians often get solicited for blood by their constituents.
“The blood bank will surely help and will play a big part in helping save lives in Catanduanes,” he said, vowing to enlist the assistance of fraternities and civic organizations in bloodletting activities to ensure the continued operation of the CDHI blood bank as part of the TGP’s support for health programs.
His assurance was echoed by Virac Mayor Samuel Laynes, who joined Cong. Teves in unveiling the marker together with the members of the Catandunganon Donantes Heras-Buhay sa Isla Foundation.
Governor Joseph Cua and Vice Governor Peter Cua both sent recorded video messages congratulating the CDHI for its initiative.
Describing the project as a dream come true, CDHI President and CEO Dr. Lubelia Sanchez said that it would not only serve CDHI but the entire province especially during disasters and solve the perennial problem of unavailability of blood supply.
BOD Chair Lumen Teves averred that the operation of the blood bank is part of CDHI’s delivery of quality health care and addresses the problem of many patients’ families who have difficulty sourcing blood.
There would be no need to go to the mainland to secure blood or have it tested as the blood screening will be done at CDHI, with the blood available within six hours after the bloodletting is conducted.
On the other hand, Medical Director and Chief Operating Officer Dr. Ivan Gil Balmadrid recalled how the board discussed two years ago the dream of having its own blood bank to address the needs of patients who had to be transferred to mainland hospitals and patients unable to be operated on or who died due to lack of blood supply.
He expressed gratitude to the board for believing in the urgent need for a blood bank even if it would be operated as a non-profit entity.
Despite the challenges, CDHI managed to achieve its dream within a year from purchasing equipment, preparing physical plants, training medical technologists and staff, and applying for a license at the Department of Health, he disclosed.
The challenge now, Dr. Balmadrid stressed, is to sustain the operation of the blood bank as he called on the CDHI’s partners, the local government units, the Provincial Health Office, DOH, the Bicol Medical Center and other entities to support the hospital’s bloodletting program.