Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

3457

HOUSE BILL NO.

introduced by Representative WOWO FORTES

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill seeks to establish the Philippine Blood Center in order to rationalize and
improve the provision of adequate and safe supply of blood and to set the standards
for scientific and professional establishment and operation of other blood banks and
sub-national / regional blood centers in the country

Republic Act No. 7719 of the National Blood Services Act of 1994 and the
consequent strengthening of voluntary blood services nationwide came on the heels
of unprecedented need for blood and blood products secondary to inevitable
epidemiologic shift towards rising incidence of dengue fever and its hemorrhagic
forms, the increasing threat of HiV and other blood borne infections and, more recently
by the national goal of drastically reducing maternal deaths through the assurance of
adequate supply of safe blood

Part of Section 2, of the said law states that “in order to promote public health it
is hereby declared the policy of the State: to promote and encourage voluntary blood
donation by the citizenry and to instill public consciousness of the principle that blood
donation is a humanitarian act: to fay down the legal principle that the provision of
blood for transfusion is a professional/medical service and not a sale of a commodity:
to provide for adequate. safe. affordable and equitable distribution of supply of blood
and blood products; to inform the public of the need for voluntary blood donation to
curb the hazards caused by the commercial sale of blood: to mobilize all sectors of the
community to participate in mechanisms for voluntary and non-profit collection of
blood: to mandate the Department of Health to establish and organize a National Blood
Transfusion Network in order to rationalize and improve the provision of adequate and
safe supply of blood: to require all blood collection units and blood banks/centers to
operate on a non-profit basis

Consistent with the provision of the Republic Act. this bill aims to establish the
Philippine Blood Center that is adequately supported by the DOH and closely
supervised by the National Council for Blood Services. This could provide the blooc
and blood products needed during peaks and upsurges in demand and critical in
augmenting the blood services being provided by hospitals and partner agencies.
Further, it will serve to perform unique functions such as but not limited to. 1. Policy
making in areas where technicai operation and quality management system play
critical role; 2. Standard setting for acceptable norms to be replicated in other blood


centers: 3. Quality assurance monitoring; 4. Capability building: and 5. Research and
development

In view of the foregoing considerations, approval of this bill is earnestly sought.

Second District, Prbvinke of Sorsogon


Nineteenth Congress of the
Republic of the Philippines
First Regular Session

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Se 3457

H. BLN

Introduced by Representative WOWO FORTES

AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE PHILIPPINE BLOOD CENTER, DEFINING ITS
OBJECTIVES, POWERS AND FUNCTIONS, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS
THEREFOR

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled.

SECTION 1. Title - This set shali be known as the “Philippine Blood Center Act of
2022

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is hereby declared the policy of the State to protect
and promote the right to health of every patient requiring blood transfusion by ensuring
adequate supply of blood that is safe, affordable, equitable, effective and efficient at
all times when the need arises

SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. — As used in this Act

a. Blood ~ refers to the human blood for transfusion

b. Blood component — refers but not limited to whole blood, red cells
granulocytes, plasma, platelets, cryoprecipitate and cryosupernate prepared in
a Blood Center

¢. Blood product ~ a therapeutic substance derived from whole blood or plasma

d. Voluntary. Non-remunerated Blood Donor — a donor who gives blood freely and
voluntarily without receiving money or any form of payment.

SEC. 4. Philippine Blood Center. ~ The Philippine Blood Center (PBC), a government.
owned facility, is hereby established to address the safe and equitable supply of blood
and blood products to ail hospitals and non-hospital based facilities doing blood
transfusion and shall be located at the Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP)
Compound, Quezon Avenue, Quezon City. The PBC shall be the lead blood center of
the Philippine National Blood Services (PNBS), a group of DOH-retained, Philippine
Red Cross and LGU regional blood centers all over the Philippines.


SEC. 5. Purposes and Objectives. - The PBC shall have the following purposes and

objectives:

a. Recruit, retain and care for voluntary blood donors;

b. Collect blood from qualified voluntary blood donors;

c. Test units of blood for the five (5) transfusion-transmissible infections (HIV 1
and 2, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Malaria and Syphilis)

d. Process whole blood into blood components;

e. Collect blood components through Apheresis

#. Store, issue, transport and distribute whole blood and blood components to
end-user hospitals and non-hospital health facilities;

g. Implement and monitor quality assurance to selected regional blood centers:

n. Conduct training and research related to blood bank technology and blood
transfusion services;

i. Perform special confirmatory and reference immunohematologic examinations
such as: identification of red cell antibodies, phenotyping of patients and
donors, and provision of antigen-negative red cell units;

j. Manufacture and provide typing sera and panel of reagent red cells

k. Prepare special plasma derivatives:

|. Ensure that safe supply of blood and blood products to all hospitals and other
health facilities are adequate in terms of distribution and delivery; and

m. Perform other functions as may be assigned by the National Council of Blood

Services.

SEC. 6. Scope of Services. - Consistent with its purposes and objectives, the PBC
shail provide the following services:

a.

Es

Advocate, disseminate information and promote voluntary blood donation
including healthy lifestyle in the community as an effective way to recruit, retain
and care for qualified volunteer biood donors

Coordinate human resource and logistics assistance to mobile biood donations
within the Blood Services Network especially during disease outbreak like
Dengue infection, natural calamities and disasters where blood and blood
products are critical as a form of life - saving measure;

Engage in social mobilization activities like conduct of mobile blood donation
activities in partnership with the Local Blood Council, Philippine Red Cross
Bicod Service Facilities, Local Government Executives, Blood Collection Units
and other institutional blood donor organizations:

Collect Apheresis — derived blood products from qualified volunteer donors.
Test blood units for infectious agents, blood component processing and teuko-
reduction/depletion of units of blood for issuance and distribution of safe, quality
blood and blood products:

Standardize and regularly monitor al! Blood Service Facilities and hospitals in
its network:

Provide on-the-job training for BSF staff, technical assistance as well as
technical resource persons in the education and training of medical
technologists and other technical personnel of other regional blood centers
and

Conduct research in the field of blood transfusion and blood bank technology.


SEC. 7. Organizational Structure and Staffing Pattern. ~ The DOH, through the Health
Human Resource Development Bureau (HHRDB) shall determine the organizational
structure and staffing pattern of the PBC subject to the evaluation by the Civil Service
Commission and of the Organization Position Classification and Compensation
Bureau of the Department of Budget and Management. The DOH may reorganize said
structure. modify the staffing pattern and create or abolish divisions. sections or units
in the PBC.

SEC. 8. Appointment by the DOH. = The DOH, through the HHRDB shail have the
authority to appoint, promote, transfer, remove, suspend or otherwise discipline the
officers and employees of the PBC upon the recommendation of the Director, subject
to Civil Service laws, rules and regulations

SEC. 9. Director. - The PBC shall be headed by a Director who shall be appointed by
the President of the Philippines upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Health

The Director shali exercise the following powers and functions.

a, Execute the policies, guidelines, standards, projects, programs and other
activities approved by the Secretary of Health, and be responsible for the
efficient discharge of management and operational functions

b. Submit for consideration and approval of the Secretary of Health proposed
measures, policies, guidelines and programs as may be deemed necessary or
proper for the effective implementation of the purposes and objectives of this
Act;

c. Direct and supervise the management, operation and administration of the
PBC, and may delegate this power and any or some of his administrative
responsibilities and duties to the other officers of the PBC,

4d. Execute, on behalf of the Secretary of Health, all contracts and agreements
which the latter may enter into, and to execute, accomplish and deliver any and
all documents relative to such contracts and agreements

e. Represent the PBC in all dealings with other offices, agencies and
instrumentalities of the government, and ail other persons or entities, whether
domestic or foreign and whether government or private

f, Recommend to the Secretary of Heaith the appointment, promotion, transfer,
dismissal and suspension of the officers and employees of the PBC: and

@. Exercise such other powers and perform such duties as may be vested or
reposed by the Secretary of Health

SEC. 10. Program for Inaigents, - The DOH shall ensure that the PBC shall adopt and
enforce a program for indigents needing blood and blood products in accordance to
the implementing guidelines on classification of patients and on availment of Medical
Social Services in Government Hospitals.

SEC. 11. Tax Exemptions and other Privileges. — The provision of any general or
special law to the contrary notwithstanding, all donations, grants, contributions, gifts
or endowments received by the PBC pursuant hereto, shall be exempt from income
gift and all other kinds of taxes, and shall be further considered as allowable


deductions from the gross income of the donor, in accordance with the provisions of
the National internal Revenue Code of 1997. as amended.

SEC. 12. Annual Report. - The PBC shall submit an annual report to the President of
the Philippines, the Senate Committee on Health and Demography and the House
Committee on Health, on its activities, accomplishments and recommendations to
better address and improve the safe supply of blood in the Philippines.

SEC, 13. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The Secretary of Health in
coordination with the Secretary of Budget and Development, shall promulgate such
Tules and regulations necessary for the implementation of this Act.

SEC. 14. Appropriations. - The amount of One Hundred Million (Php 100,000,000.00)
is hereby appropriated for the initial operation and maintenance of the PBC.
Thereafter, such sum as may be necessary for the continued operation of the PBC
shali be included in the annual General Appropriations Act

SEC. 15. Non-Profit Operation. ~The PBC shall operate on a non-profit basis provided
that it may collect biood service fees not greater than the maximum prescribed by the
DOH which shall be limited to the necessary expenses entailed in collecting
processing and testing of blood. Blood shall be collected from healthy voluntary donors
only.

SEC. 16. Establishment of a Trust Fund. — A trust fund shall be established out of the
donations generated by the PBC and its retained income from the coliected blood
service fees. The funds shall be used for the twenty-four hour operation, additional
manpower, purchase of additional blood bank equipment and for the augmentation of
Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) specifically for the purchase of
reagents, medical and laboratory supplies

SEC. 17. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, orders, proclamations. rules and
regulations, or parts thereof, which are inconsistent with the Act are hereby repealed
amended, or modified accordingly.

SEC. 18. Effectivity Clause. ~ This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after

publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) national newspapers of general
circulation.

Approved,