Philippine Blood Services Act

TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES First Regular Session NL -9 74:06 SENATE S. No._ Introduced by: Senator Loren Legarda AN ACT STRENGTHENING THE PHILIPPINE BLOOD SERVICES SYSTEM BY ESTABLISHING THE PHILIPPINE BLOOD DISEASE AND TRANSFUSION CENTER, INSTITUTIONALIZING THE PHILIPPINE BLOOD CENTER AND REGIONAL BLOOD CENTERS, DEFINING THEIR OBJECTIVES, POWERS AND FUNCTIONS, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR EXPLANATORY NOTE Republic Act No. 7719, or the National Blood Services Act of 1994, mandates the establishment of blood centers in every province and city nationwide. To implement this, the Department of Health (DOH) issued Administrative Order No. 2005-0002, which created the Philippine Blood Center as the national facility for the collection, testing, processing, storage, and distribution of blood and blood components. However, the Philippine Blood Center lacks a legal charter and continues to operate under the budget of the National Voluntary Blood Services Program. While it has fulfilled much of its mandate, its full potential as the apex blood facility has yet to be realized. This bill seeks to institutionalize the Philippine Blood Center as the national and central hub of blood services under the DOH, define its specific mandates, and enable it to coordinate with and capacitate a nationwide network of Regional Blood Centers to be established and maintained by DOH Regional Offices. At the same time, the bill addresses the urgent need to improve access to specialized care for patients with blood-related conditions. According to the National Nutrition Council, the three most common blood diseases in the Philippines are anemia, hemophilia, and leukemia. Anemia is characterized by a low red blood cell

count or hemoglobin level. Hemophilia is a bleeding disorder where the blood does not clot properly, and leukemia is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. The 2015 Philippine Cancer Society report estimates that at least 4.5 per 100,000 Filipinos develop leukemia, with approximately 4,270 new cases and 3,386 deaths in that year. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, deaths due to anemia increased by 1.5% from 3,284 in 2020 to 3,334 in 2021, and in 2021 there were 786 deaths attributable to other diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs and certain immune disorders-slightly lower than the 860 deaths recorded in 2020. To respond to this, the bill establishes the Philippine Blood Disease and Transfusion Center, a government corporate entity located within the Lung Center of the Philippines compound. The Philippine Blood Disease and Transfusion Center will operate as a specialty hospital with at least 250 beds, a hematology and molecular laboratory, a hematopoietic stem cell transplant program and donor registry, and will conduct teaching and research in hematology and transfusion medicine. By establishing the Philippine Blood Disease and Transfusion Center, institutionalizing the Philippine Blood Center, and operationalizing Regional Blood Centers, this bill seeks to strengthen the Philippine Blood Services System and ensure the safe, adequate, and equitable provision of blood and blood-related healthcare services nationwide. In view of the foregoing considerations, approval of this bill is earnestly sought. LOREN LEGARDA

TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 25 JUL -9 P4:06 First Regular Session ) SENATE S. No. 305 Introduced by: Senator Loren Legarda AN ACT STRENGTHENING THE PHILIPPINE BLOOD SERVICES SYSTEM BY ESTABLISHING THE PHILIPPINE BLOOD DISEASE AND TRANSFUSION CENTER, INSTITUTIONALIZING THE PHILIPPINE BLOOD CENTER AND REGIONAL BLOOD CENTERS, DEFINING THEIR 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. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Philippine Blood

2 Services Act."

Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the policy of the State to protect and

promote the right to health of the people and instill health consciousness among them. 5 Towards this end, the State shall establish a Philippine Blood Disease and Transfusion 6 Center, which shall offer comprehensive care for patients with blood diseases, 7 including blood transfusion services, in the interest of public welfare, and shall 8 institutionalize the Philippine Blood Center and a nationwide network of Regional Blood 9 Centers to ensure the availability, safety, and quality of blood, as well as the provision 10 of comprehensive care for patients with blood-related diseases.

Sec. 3. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Act:

a. Apheresis Facility - a blood service facility where blood is collected, a specific component is separated and retained, and the remainder is returned to the donor. b. Blood - refers to the human blood for transfusion.

c. Blood Center - refers to a health facility authorized to collect, test, process, store, and distribute human blood and blood components pursuant to this Act, including the Philippine Blood Center and Regional Blood Centers. d. Philippine Blood Center - refers to the national and central hub of blood services in the country, institutionalized under this Act and under the direct supervision of the Department of Health. e. Regional Blood Centers - refers to blood centers established and maintained by the regional offices of the Department of Health under the supervision of the Philippine Blood Center. f. Philippine Blood Disease and Transfusion Center - refers to the government-owned and -controlled specialty hospital established under this Act to provide comprehensive care for patients with blood diseases and transfusion services. g. Blood Component - refers, but is not limited, to whole blood, red cells, granulocytes, plasma, platelets, cryoprecipitate, and cryosupernate prepared in the Blood Center. h. Blood Disease - refers to a blood condition that involves problems with the red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, blood vessels, bone marrow, lymph nodes, spleen, or the proteins involved in bleeding and clotting (hemostasis and thrombosis). Blood diseases and blood disorders are used interchangeably in this Act. i. Blood Product - refers to a therapeutic substance derived from whole blood or plasma j. Blood Transfusion - refers to the process of transferring blood or blood- based products from one person into the circulatory system of another. k. Hematology - refers to the branch of medicine that is concerned with the study of blood, the blood-forming organs, and blood diseases. 1. Voluntary Blood Donor - refers to a donor who gives blood freely and voluntarily without any form of payment.

Sec. 4. Establishment of Facilities, - There is hereby established the Philippine

Blood Disease and Transfusion Center, which shall be a government corporate entity located at the Lung Center of the Philippines Compound in Quezon City. It shall provide

1 comprehensive and specialized care for patients with blood diseases and blood-related 2 conditions, including blood transfusion services, and shall serve as a national center 3 for research, training, and education in hematology and transfusion medicine. The Philippine Blood Center, previously created through administrative issuance 5 pursuant to Republic Act No. 7719 and DOH Administrative Order No. 2005-0002, is 6 hereby institutionalized as the national and central hub of blood services in the country 7 under the direct supervision of the Department of Health (DOH). It shall oversee the 8 collection, testing, processing, storage, and distribution of blood and blood 9 components, and provide standards, training, and coordination to all Regional Blood 10 Centers and other licensed blood service facilities.

Sec. 5. Regional Blood Centers. - All regions of the Philippines shall have

Regional Blood Centers which shall be under the direct control and supervision of the Philippine Blood Center. The Regional Blood Centers shall be the local regional hub for regional blood services.

Sec. 6. Non-Profit Operations. — The Philippine Blood Center and the Regional

Blood Centers shall operate on a non-profit basis: Provided, That they may collect blood service fees not greater than the maximum prescribed by the Department of Health, 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. 7. Purposes and Objectives. -

(a) The Philippine Blood Center shall have the following purposes and objectives as the premier blood service facility of the Philippines: 1. Centrally recruit, motivate, and screen blood donors; 2. Centrally collect, test for transfusion-transmissible infections, process, store, issue, and transport blood and blood components for transfusion; 3. Perform special immunohematologic tests; 4. Provide information, educate, and counsel on transfusion- transmissible infections; 5. Create a database for blood donors in accordance with Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012;

6. Conduct quality assurance and surveillance; 7. Establish a national hemovigilance system; 8. Conduct training and research in blood banking and related technologies and fields as basis for national policy-making; 9. Capacitate regional blood centers; 10. Administer to the resource stratification for national blood services in collaboration with regional blood centers; and 11. Perform other functions assigned by the Department of Health. (b) The Philippine Blood Disease and Transfusion Center shall have the following purposes and objectives: 1. To construct, establish, operate, and maintain a specialty hospital, with at least two hundred fifty (250) bed capacity, which shall offer comprehensive care for patients with blood diseases; 2. To establish and operate a blood transfusion center and a state- of-the-art hematology laboratory (which should be able to offer more services than a regular medical center), including a molecular laboratory; 3. To establish and operate a Hematopoietic Stem Cell transplant program and donor registry; 4. To collect blood from qualified voluntary blood donors, and process whole blood into blood components; 5. To ensure the safety, as well as the adequate supply, of blood and blood products delivered to hospitals and other health facilities; 6. To promote, encourage, and engage in medical and scientific research on the prevention and treatment of blood diseases, on the care and/or treatment of patients with blood diseases, and on the proper operation of blood bank technology and blood transfusion services to ensure the safety of both blood donors and donees; 7. To gather, compile, and publish the findings of its medical and scientific research;

8. To conduct studies and develop teaching programs, in collaboration with universities, hospitals, and/or research institutions, on the prevention and treatment of blood diseases; to encourage and grant scholarships for advanced training and specialization in hematology; and to support educational programs of value to general public health; 9. To finance, sponsor, hold, or participate in congresses, conventions, conferences, seminars, workshops, and training programs on the prevention and treatment of blood diseases; and 10. To encourage and assist in the education and training of physicians, nurses, health officers, social workers, and medical and technical personnel in the practical and scientific implementation of services to patients with blood diseases.

Sec. 8. Powers and Functions of the Philippine Blood Disease and Transfusion

Center. - The Philippine Blood Disease and Transfusion Center shall have the following powers and functions: (a) To have the attribute of perpetual succession and shall be vested with the powers of a corporation; (b) To adopt and use a corporate seal which shall be a matter of judicial notice; (c) To enter into contracts with any person or entity, whether public or private, domestic or foreign; (d) To acquire assets, real or personal, or any interest therein, and encumber or otherwise dispose the same, under any mode of encumbrance or conveyance, as it may deem proper and necessary in the conduct of its business; (e) To invest its excess funds, subject to applicable laws, rules and regulations, in any activity related to the Blood Center, as well as in any bonds or securities issued and guaranteed by the Government of the Philippines; (f) To collect reasonable fees from the public for its services;

(g) To solicit and accept any gifts, contributions, endowments, grants, bequests and devises of any kind of real or personal property which are necessary and proper for the attainment of the purpose of the hospital; and (h) To perform such acts and exercise such functions as may be necessary and proper for the attainment of the purposes and objectives herein specified.

Sec. 9. Board of Trustees of the Philippine Blood Disease and Transfusion

9 Center. - The affairs and business of the Philippine Blood Disease and Transfusion Center shall be directed, its properties managed, and its corporate powers exercised, unless otherwise provided in this Charter, by its own Board of Trustees, which shall be composed of seven (7) members as follows: (a) The Secretary of the Department of Health as Chairman of the Board, or his duly authorized representative; (b) The Department of Health Undersecretary in charge of supervising specialty hospitals; (c) One (1) member from the private sector, preferably with experience in finance, administration or management; (d) One (1) representative who is an expert in hematology; (e) One (1) representative who is an expert in blood transfusion; (f) One (1) representative from an NGO involved in health advocacy; and (g) The Philippine Blood Disease and Transfusion Center Executive Director. The terms of office, manner of appointment of the trustees and other matters pertaining to the governance of the Philippine Blood Disease and Transfusion Center shall be determined in accordance with the pertinent provisions of Republic Act No. 10149 or the GOCC Governance Act of 2011.

Sec. 10. Powers and Functions of the Board of Trustees of the Philippine Blood

Disease and Transfusion Center. - The Board of Trustees of the Philippine Blood Disease and Transfusion Center, which shall be the policy-making body of the Center, shall have the following powers and functions: (a) Set the policies and directions of the Philippine Blood Disease and Transfusion Center in order to accomplish its mandate;

(b) Adopt a set of by-laws, rules, regulations, guidelines, and procedures consistent with law and the provisions hereof to govern the administration and operation of the Center; (c) Establish the organizational structure of the Philippine Blood Disease and Transfusion Center, define the duties and responsibilities of its officials and employees, and adopt a compensation and benefit scheme, subject to the pertinent provisions of Republic Act No. 10149 or the GOCC Governance Act of 2011; (d) Establish and maintain professional and technical educational systems for the sustained development of the necessary manpower to manage and operate its affairs and business; (e) Authorize the expenditures of the Philippine Blood Disease and Transfusion Center as may be necessary or proper for its efficient and effective management, operation, and administration; (f) Send the personnel of the Philippine Blood Disease and Transfusion Center to research institutes, medical institutes, or universities for advance training or observation and to attend international or regional conventions, conferences, congresses, or seminars as the Board of Trustees may deem necessary to accomplish the purposes and objectives of the Center; (g) Enter into such agreements and arrangements with other medical or similar institutions, domestic or foreign, as it may deem desirable toward promoting the purposes and objectives of the Philippine Blood Disease and Transfusion Center; (h) Appoint, remove, suspend, or otherwise discipline the Executive Director and other officers of the Philippine Blood Disease and Transfusion Center occupying executive and senior management positions; and (i) Undertake such other acts and things as are or may be necessary for or incidental to the accomplishment of the purposes and objectives of the Philippine Blood Disease and Transfusion Center.

Sec. 11. Organizational Structure and Staffing Pattern for the Philippine Blood

Center and Regional Blood Centers. - The Department of Health shall craft staffing

standards and create new positions as necessary to ensure the appropriate human resources for the operation of the Philippine Blood Center and Regional Blood Centers, 3 subject to the approval of the Civil Service Commission and the Department of Budget and Management.

Sec. 12. Directors for the Philippine Blood Center and Regional Blood Centers.

- The Philippine Blood Center and the Regional Blood Centers shall be led by a Director 7 appointed by the President of the Philippines, upon recommendation by the Secretary of Health.

Sec. 13. Executive Director of the Philippine Blood Disease and Transfusion

Center. - The Philippine Blood Disease and Transfusion Center shall be headed by the Executive Director, whose rank and emoluments shall be approved by the Board, taking into account the prevailing practice in other specialty hospitals, and subject to the pertinent guidelines issued by the Governance Commission for GOCCS. The Executive Director shall have the following duties and responsibilities: (a) Direct and supervise the operations and administration of the Philippine Blood Disease and Transfusion Center; (b) Execute, administer, and implement the policies and measures approved by the Board; (c) Prepare the agenda for the meetings of the Board, and submit for consideration of the Board such policies and measures as he/she believes necessary to carry out the purposes and objectives of this Act; (d) Represent the Philippine Blood Disease and Transfusion Center in all dealings, i.e., meetings, contracts, negotiations, etc., with all other offices, agencies, and instrumentalities of the government and with all persons and other entities, domestic or foreign; (e) Appoint, remove, suspend, or otherwise discipline all other officers and employees of the Philippine Blood Disease and Transfusion Center; and (f) Exercise such other powers and perform such other duties provided in the by-laws and as vested to him/her by the Board.

Sec. 14. Annual Report. - The Philippine Blood Center shall submit an annual

report to the President of the Philippines, the Department of Health, the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, and the House Committee on Health, on its

1 activities, accomplishments, and recommendations to better address and improve the 2 safe supply of blood in the Philippines. The Philippine Blood Disease and Transfusion Center shall submit an annual report to the Department of Health, pursuant to the pertinent provisions of Republic 5 Act No. 10149.

Sec. 15. Indigent Program. - The Department of Health shall ensure that the

7 Philippine Blood Disease and Transfusion Center, the Philippine Blood Center, and the 8 Regional Blood Centers adopt and implement programs for indigent patients needing 9 blood, blood products, or treatment, aligned with the government's social service 10 guidelines.

Sec. 16. Tax Exemptions and Other Privileges. - The provision of any general or

12 special law to the contrary notwithstanding, all donations, grants, contributions, gifts, bequests, subsidies, or financial aid received by the Philippine Blood Disease and Transfusion Center, the Philippine Blood Center, and the Regional Blood Centers shall be exempt from income tax, donor's tax, gift tax, and all other kinds of taxes, and shall be considered allowable deductions from the gross income of the donor in accordance with the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended. The properties and income of the Philippine Blood Disease and Transfusion Center shall likewise be exempt from all direct and indirect taxes on its income, properties, and operations, including all accruals on its income and investment earnings.

Sec. 17. Trust Fund and Income Retention. - The Philippine Blood Center shall

retain income from collected blood service fees in a trust fund to be used exclusively for operations and capacity-building of the Philippine Blood Center and Regional Blood Centers. The Philippine Blood Disease and Transfusion Center shall retain and utilize income derived from its operations for the continuous improvement of its services and facilities, subject to government auditing rules and regulations. No amount from such income shall be used to augment the salaries and other compensation of personnel beyond amounts determined by the Governance Commission for GOCCS.

Sec. 18. Assistance from Government Agencies. - The Philippine Blood Disease

and Transfusion Center, the Philippine Blood Center, and the Regional Blood Centers may request assistance and cooperation from other government agencies, offices, and 32 government-owned and -controlled corporations.

Sec. 19. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The Department of Health, in

2 coordination with the Department of Budget and Management, shall promulgate the necessary rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this Act within sixty 4 (60) days from its effectivity.

Sec. 20. Appropriations. - The amount of Eight Hundred Fifty Million Pesos

6 (P850,000,000) is hereby appropriated for the initial establishment and operation of 7 the Philippine Blood Disease and Transfusion Center. Thereafter, the amount 8 necessary for its continued operation shall be included in the annual General 9 Appropriations Act. The amount needed for the initial implementation of this Act, including the maintenance and other operating expenses of the Philippine Blood Center, shall be charged against the current year's appropriations of the Department of Health. For the succeeding years, the amount allocated for the Philippine Blood Center in the DOH budget shall be based on its strategic plan, in coordination with other stakeholders.

Sec. 21. Separability Clause - If any portion or provision of the Act is declared

void or unconstitutional, the remaining portions or provisions hereof shall not be affected by such declaration.

Sec. 22. Repealing Clause - All laws, acts, executive orders, administrative

orders, rules and regulations inconsistent herewith, are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

Sec. 23. Effectivity - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its

publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation. Approved,