RIYADH, 8 February 2004 — Many overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have been donating blood under the “blood for life” campaign. Sadly, many of them have been doing it merely for money.
“The donors are not paid initially but after that, when their blood type is needed, the hospital calls them and when they agree to donate, they are paid,” said a head nurse at a local hospital here. “At the hospital where I am working, the amount paid is SR400 per 500 cc,” she said.
When asked if she knew other expats also donating blood for money, she said that she had heard that some do but Filipino expats constitute the bulk of cash-for-blood donors.
She added that she knew quite a number of OFWs, including regular staff at the hospital where she works who are regularly undergoing blood transfusions under the “blood for life” campaign.
A 34-year-old Filipino nurse from Cebu, in Central Philippines, said that he has donated at least once during the last seven months since he joined the hospital where he’s employed.
“I received money which I badly needed. That was the last time that I donated, but I know Filipinos at the hospital who are regular donors because they need the money,” he said. He added that some of them donate once every three months.
A Filipino member of staff at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center in Jeddah told Arab News that she knew OFWs regularly donating blood for various reasons.
“You can’t blame them if they are not donating any more under the guise of public service. Their responsibilities have increased and so have their monetary needs,” she said.
An OFW who has been a regular donor said that the amount he is paid helps in meeting family needs back home in the Philippines.
“I am earning a relatively good income as a sports instructor here but I am also helping my relatives. My parents are still around and I also remit money to them from time to time even though they are not asking,” he said.
Another OFW working as a physiotherapist here said that what is paid to him as a donor helps in sending his two children to college. Another one said that he uses what he is paid in meeting his monthly contributions to the Social Security System.
“What I receive in monthly salaries is just enough for my family and the education of my three kids and yet I have to look after my retirement years,” he said.
But aside from the money, there are other benefits derived by donors.
“We need regular medical check-up to keep ourselves in good health, and those cost money. The same services are also rendered free when we undergo medical examination to find out if we are fit as blood donors,” he said.
A Filipina head nurse at the Security Forces Hospital here said: “The phenomenon of being blood donors for money should not detract from the goodwill and altruism involved in donating under the ‘blood for life’ campaign.”
