A hundred and fifty-one (151)  Ignatian ‘heroes’ bleed in Dugong Atenista 1; Record up by 68%

ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY ONE students, teachers, office personnel and alumni of the Ateneo de Naga University bravely responded to the call for Ignatian XIÁ – heroes – by being blood donors in the Dugong Atenista I during the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola last July 31, 2008 at the Xavier Hall.

This new record is 75.58 percent higher than the July 31, 2007 bloodletting activity with 86 donors and 67.78 percent higher than the one conducted last December 3, 2007 with 90.

The dramatic rise can be attributed to the intensive campaign and health education for potential donors, stressing the safety and importance of blood donation. Late in June, the Office of Student Affairs (OSA) started to pose the blood donation challenge - the 10 Per Student Organization and One per College/Department/Office Challenge. The donors affirmed the effectiveness of the campaign by positively identifying the following sources of information regarding Dugong Atenista: classmates and friends, organizations, faculty, posters and exhibit and the public announcement system where the campaign ran for two weeks straight.

The OSA set a very ambitious target for the Ignatiana event – 150. No less. But it also realized that it needed to work hard as it is not really easy for one to say yes to give blood. The fear of the needle was indeed OSA’s number one barrier to blood donation. Safety, aside from importance, needed to be heavily stressed. 

The first two hours of the bloodletting were overwhelming as donors strongly streamed along the registration area like a box office, but the screening trimmed the number a little. Some were underweight. Others were below seventeen years old.  Others had colds or high blood pressure on that day. Still this good start gave the organizers much optimism. But before noon struck, the organizers started to feel that they have set an impossible goal as the current figure was just half of the target. An hour passed – five, ten and twenty more added, reaching our 100th mark. To the Nursing student volunteers, it was a great achievement but for OSA, it meant 50 more qualified donors were still badly needed. In the next hour, the registration and waiting areas became almost empty chairs. The organizers were close to dismissing the target, accepting the more probable result of closing at 120-130, and deciding to be happy with the thought that they have surpassed the figures last year. But before the final hour killed the hope, the latecomers finally arrived until the 151st donor bled last.

With huge 87.42 percent or 132 of the total number of donors, the student sector was obviously the largest contributor, dwarfing the number of office staff and administrators (12 donors or 7.92%), faculty (5 donors or 3.31%), and alumni (2 donors or1.32%) sectors combined.

Nursing students showed an overwhelmingly strong presence in the activity as they comprised 33.77 percent of the donors, followed by the Commerce students (23%), Arts and Sciences students (13.77%), Engineering students (8.61%), Computer Science students (7.28%) and Education students (1.32%) respectively.

The campaign also clicked strongly among student organizations. In fact, whopping 68.87 percent or 104 donors indicated that they represented their organizations, hoping they will be able to meet the Ten per Organization Challenge. There were 42 organizations who took part in the activity.

Fourteen Nursing students donated as members of the Ateneo Nursing Student Association, the organization with the highest number of donors, exceeding the challenge. ANSA was followed by Days with the Lord-Men (7) Ateneo Dance Club (6), varsitarians from the College Athletics (7), Youth for Christ (6), Liga ng mga Estudyante sa Agham Pampulitika (5), Junior Philippine Institute of Accountants (5), Media Studies Society (5), and Bonum et Sapientia (4) repectively.

Another interesting result of the recent bloodletting was the rise of female donors making up 33.77 percent or 51 of the total donors compared to the highly dominated male donors last school year.

The activity ran smoothly throughout the day from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It was started by an Opening Program where Atty. Jo Aileen A. Cabiles, OSA director and Dr. Jessica Abella, resident physician from the Department of Laboratories of the Bicol Medical Center (BMC) gave their messages.

The actual bloodletting was facilitated by Bicol Medical Center health personnel and 30 trained Nursing student volunteers. Donors followed five steps, namely: registration, screening, blood typing, the extraction of blood, and exit registration.

More than two hundred (200) registered, though only 168 were qualified to be blood donors. Of the qualified, 151 were successful and 17 were unsuccessful.

ABOUT DUGONG ATENISTA

Dugong Atenista started as a community extension service of the Office of Student Affairs in coordination with the Personnel Services Office. It was conceptualized and launched in 2007 as a strong response to the medical need of the members of the University community or their immediate families for blood donors during emergencies.

The idea expanded as two bloodletting activities were symbolically conducted on the Feasts of St. Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier with the Bicol Medical Center, securing enough supply of readily available blood during emergencies. From time to time, students, teachers and office personnel would go to OSA or the Personnel’s Office and request blood for them or their families.

In February this year, the program was further strengthened as ADNU through its University President, Fr. Joel E. Tabora, S.J., and the BMC finally forged their partnership in a Memorandum of Agreement.

In the MOA, the Bicol Medical Center, shall be responsible for the following: (a) careful screening of voluntary donors, (b) scientific, professional and safe conduct of mass blood-letting on St. Ignatius Day and St. Francis Xavier Day and other dates as may be agreed upon by the two, (c) collection, storage and banking of collected blood and its Blood Bank and Transfusion Service, (d) responsive awarding of blood to recipients referred by OSA, (e) conduct of serological test, and (f) speedy facilitation of hospital to hospital transfer of blood in case patients/recipients are not confined in BMC.

Although not detailed in the MOA, the ADNU Party through OSA shall be responsible for the following: (a) planning and implementation of activities under the program, (b) coordination with other stakeholders in efficient and effective implementation of the program’s activities, (c) coordination with the different sectors in the University, namely: students, faculty, staff and administrators, (d) advocacy and promotion of the program, (e) receiving and referral of requestors/recipients and coordination with the Bicol Medical Center, creation and maintenance of database of Dugong Atenista I and II blood donors and on-call blood donors, (f) documentation of activities, (g) evaluation of the program and its activities, and (h) initiation of innovations for expansion of the program

It is further stated in the MOA that the blood that will be awarded to the recipient is free. A recipient is also freed of the serological test fee. However, handling is not free and shall be charged to the recipient.

The blood-letting of walking/on-call donors is not covered by the MOA even if patients are confined in BMC. The hospitals where the recipients are confined shall be the ones responsible for the conduct of safe blood-letting. The donors shall not charge the recipients and the hospitals cannot therefore charge the recipients of the blood collected. However, recipients shall shoulder other fees.

THIS SCHOOL YEAR, DUGONG ATENISTA IS REINTRODUCED AS A FORMATION PROGRAM. It will form part of the action component of the newly launched Ateneo Student Awareness and Action Program (ASAP!). All its activities and goals, therefore, shall be faithful to ASAP!’s design and anchored on the Ignatian Formation Program’s conceptual framework under Social Spirituality. It will not just be an act of community outreach for the members of the community. There will be a deepening of the donors’ experiences. There will also be an ensuring that donors will have the appropriate motivation for their act of blood donation. But while ASAP! is intended for students, Dugong Atenista remains open to all sectors in the University.
         
The program will no longer be limited to its twice-a-year bloodletting activities. It will now respond to those who need on-call/walking donors or those who are willing to donate blood if the need arises (e.g. Dengue cases).

Dugong Atenista also remains exclusive to the Ateneo de Naga University. Donors will still come from the different sectors in the University, namely the students, faculty, staff and administrators. Alumni can also partake in the program’s activities. Likewise, beneficiaries would only refer to the students and personnel of the University community or their immediate families.

The OSA will continue to tap the College of Nursing and the Infirmary, and other relevant units in the implementation of the program’s activities.

The next big Dugong Atenista event will be on December 2, 2008 in time for the University celebration of the Feast of Francis Xavier. As early as now, members of the community, both the old donors and the inexperienced are urged to ready themselves and take part in the program as Ignatian heroes. Interested walking/on-call donors are likewise encouraged to register at OSA.

Referrals for blood recipients are also done at OSA.