| Armed Services Blood Program Newsletter |
May 11, 2011 | |
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From the Desk of:
COL Francisco Rentas, Director, ASBPO
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Each month we post a variety of stories on our website to showcase our donors, volunteers and staff. These stories connect us all--donors, volunteers, supporters and staff members alike--to our vital mission. In this issue we highlight just a few of the many recent stories that have been shared with us.
Whether you are rereading some of your favorite stories or just catching up on some of the stories you might have missed, I hope you enjoy.
Warm regards,
COL Francisco Rentas
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Spreading the Love in California
 During a blood drive hosted by the Communications Company at Camp Pendleton, Calif., donors and staff alike turned out to give the ultimate Valentine's Day gift of love! A steady stream of Marines, sailors and civilians flowed in to support the Armed Services Blood Program and the men and women in need of this life-saving gift.
According to Sgt. Eric Justus, blood drive coordinator for the Communications Company, the purpose of the Valentine's Day blood drive was to educate Marines and sailors about the importance of blood donation. Read the entire article on the ASBP website. Photo: Cpl. Osvaldo Trejo and his wife Ashley Trejo donate blood at the Communications Company Valentine's Day blood drive at Camp Pendleton, Calif. This was the couple's first time donating with the Armed Services Blood Program. | |
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Making an Impact Regardless of Rank
When the Armed Services Blood Bank Center-Europe (ASBBC-E) mobile blood team hosted an Armed Services Blood Program blood drive for the 5th Quartermaster Airborne Detachment in Kaiserslautern, Germany, the result was the largest one-day blood drive at the Rhine Ordnance Barracks in four years.
Sgt. Rinku Patel is a dedicated platelet and whole blood donor to the Armed Services Blood Program, and was the driving force in planning the blood drive. His motivation to help those in need led him to want to help others on a broader scale by getting his entire unit involved. Patel approached his unit leadership with the idea of sponsoring a blood drive at their home base, the Rhine Ordnance Barracks. The 5th Quartermaster leadership was completely behind the idea and supported Patel in the weeks leading up to the drive. Leadership was so supportive that on Jan. 21, 2011, the day of the drive, the commander and first sergeant were part of the first wave of donors to sign-in.
Read the entire story on the ASBP website.
Photo: (From left to right) Spc. Harrison Winter, Pfc. Travis Canfield, Spc. Susan Choi, Spc. Brian Trautt, Spc. Matthew Onorato and Sgt. Rinku Patel, all from 5th Quartermaster Airborne Detachment, volunteered during an Armed Services Blood Program blood drive on Jan. 21, 2011.
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No Uniform Required
The ASBP Focal Point civilian hero of the month!
Merledic Casado answers the telephone at the Robertson Blood Center as "Melody"--an easy to remember name for a woman that has spent more than 10 years making "medical music" for troops and their families.
Originally from Honduras, Casado moved to Panama in 1990 to work with her sister on a U.S. military base. There she met and married her husband, Jose Luis Casado, an aviation electronics repairman for the Army with three deployments under his belt.
In 2003, while the couple was stationed in Germany, Casado started attending training at Hanau Dental Clinic to be a dental assistant. Two years later, after moving Fort Hood, Texas, she was hired at the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center as a certified nurse assistant, but she wanted to do more.
Read the entire article on the ASBP website.
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Photo: Phlebotomist Merledic "Melody" Casado's great personality and dedication to the Armed Services Blood Program's mission encourages donors to roll up their sleeves to give.
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Picture This!
The ASBP Focal Point picture of the month
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 Each year, the Armed Services Blood Program conducts a blood drive at the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. And each year, the drive is a huge success! This year over 2,100 units of blood were collected from a record number of donors. Many of the repeat donors said that this year's drive was the best they had seen at West Point yet! The Armed Services Blood Program sends out a big thank you to all those who participated--even the blood drop was in attendance for this one!
Read more about West Point blood drive on the ASBP website.
Photo: Two cadets pause to give a hug to the blood drop at the United States Military Academy at West Point during the 2011 blood drive.
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Blood Collection Team Visits Orange County Choppers
 Fans of the Discovery Channel's reality show "American Chopper" are quite familiar with the names, faces and sights of the Orange County Choppers motorcycle shop in Newburgh, N.Y. What fans may not know is that the staff at Orange County Choppers is also quite familiar with the Armed Services Blood Program. For the second year in a row, blood donor center team members from across the country who conducted a blood drive at the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., were given the chance to participate in a behind-the-scenes tour of the Orange County Choppers facility, meet members of the team, including the company's founder and star of the reality series, Paul Teutul, Sr., and get an up close and personal look at some of the amazing custom bikes being built from start to finish.
Read the entire article on the ASBP website.
Photo: Paul Teutel, Sr. (center, red shirt), founder of Orange County Choppers, in Newburgh, N.Y., welcomes Armed Services Blood Program team members to the shop. |
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It's the Navy!
 Enough cannot be said about the great donors of the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island and Naval Station Everett. Every 56 days, the amount of time allowed between donations, the Armed Services Blood Blank Center-Pacific Northwest (ASBBC-PNW) conducts blood drives at the site. With a schedule that is established just prior to the new fiscal year, the donors always show up, eager and willing to roll up their sleeves to give blood.
Mark Watts has been donating blood for the last 19 years with a civilian agency in San Diego, Calif. After joining the Depot Overhaul Center of Flight Controls at the Fleet Readiness Center four years ago, he became a regular donor with the ASBBC-PNW, and it wasn't long before he reached his one gallon donation mark. Watts says that the ASBBC-PNW has the best blood donation process he has ever experienced and described it as quick, smooth and painless.
Read the entire article on the ASBP website.
Photo: Mark Watts proudly shows off two Armed Services Blood Program pint glasses he received for reaching his one gallon mark with the Armed Services Blood Bank Center-Pacific Northwest.
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