BUKAYRIYAH, 1 November 2007 — The first-ever blood donation campaign involving Filipino workers in the Qassim Region has yielded a total of 61,200 cc (136 bags) of blood, organizers of the event said.

Launched under the auspices of the Philippine Embassy, in cooperation with the King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center (KFSH & RC), and Sampiga (Group of Filipino Workers in Gassim), the bloodletting saw 136 donors from out of 435 who answered the call for volunteers.

Dubbed “Dugo Ko, Alay Ko Sa Iyo (My Blood, I Offer It to You),” the bloodletting was held at Kaat Al-Nakheel Hall in Bukayriyah, close to the Bukayriyah General Hospital (BGH), where the collected blood were eventually stored for patients of the 15 state hospitals in the region to avail themselves of.

“Today is a very significant day — truly a red-letter day as we launch under the patronage of Qassim Gov. Prince Faisal ibn Bandar Abdulaziz Al-Saud the 2nd blood donation project of the Filipino community in the Kingdom,” said Ambassador Antonio P. Villamor as he addressed the crowd as guest speaker.

In the first blood donation drive held in Riyadh last May, the KFSHRC blood bank received a total of 44,000 cc of blood from 88 Filipinos donors.

In both campaigns, Villamor exhorted those present to remember that the blood donation project “is sharing the true spirit of friendship and brotherhood that could spread from day to day, month to month and year to year until we share the same compassion and dreams for all people everywhere.”

Labor Attaché Rustico dela Fuente, head of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Riyadh, and one of the initiators of the blood donation project, said the campaign was the Filipino community’s way of showing its gratitude to the Saudi people for giving jobs to about a million Filipinos and “the opportunity to pursue their dreams.”

Acknowledging the gesture of gratitude, the BGH chief, Dr. Mohamad Sulaiman Al-Doghaiyem, said, “I am giving full support to this project, the first of its kind in Qassim.”

He said that only Filipino expatriates had so far been able to undertake such a project in the region.

Onaizah Al-Zogabi, BGH blood bank director, also lauded the project and expressed happiness since the blood bank under him was the recipient of the donations.

The hospital provided the medical beds, laboratory equipment and apparatus.

Among the BGH staff present were Dr. Gamal Sakir, BGH medical director; Sultan Al-Tassan, who heads the laboratory section, and Dr. Mohammad Areef.

Areef had always been involved with the medical missions of Sampiga in Qassim, said the group’s president, Danny Mangilaya.

Volunteer groups from Riyadh included representatives of the Filipino Nurses Society in Saudi Arabia (Filnasa), which is headed by Alina N. Articulo, and of the Filipino Expatriate, Health, Education, and Livelihood Programs (Fehelp) under Archie Trigo and Lito Lico.

These groups worked hand in hand with volunteers from four hospitals and two polyclinics in Qassim-BGH, Al-Rass General Hospital, Al-Zayed Hospital Al-Safwa Polyclinic, and Al-Flaiw Polyclinic.

Delia Sarmiento Carlos, formerly acting head nurse at the medical intensive care unit (MICU B-2 Royal ICU) of the KFSH & RC, described the “Dugo Ko, Alay Ko” project as a humanitarian undertaking of the embassy and the community as a whole “to show our gratitude to Saudi Arabia, our host country, with a mission to deliver a gift of life, and promote community leadership and lasting friendship between the Philippines and the Kingdom.”