Armed Services Blood Program Newsletter
Feb. 14, 2011 

ASBP Banner

From the Desk of:   

COL Francisco Rentas, Director, ASBPO

 

COL Francisco RentasThanks to our donors, volunteers and supporters, 2012 is off to a great start. National Blood Donor Month was a huge success, and we want to thank each and every one of you for your dedication once again. 

 

This month, it's all about the Valentine's Day spirit. It is a great time of year to find the perfect match (blood type match, that is), but this is also a great time of year to share stories that embody the spirit of the holiday. Our donors continuously show their love by giving the precious gift of blood. 

 

In this issue of the The Focal Point, read about how our donor's compassion and kindness save lives of service members, veterans and their families worldwide.

 

Warm regards, 
COL Francisco Rentas

Army Blood Program Targets Blood Needs of the Combat Warrior     

 

Falls Church, Va., February 13, 2012--The Army Blood Program is calling for just the right type!

 

A person's blood group is distinguished by the presence or absence of different markers or antigens on the red cells which lead to four different blood groups--A, B, AB and O. The presence or absence of a second antigen, the d antigen, combined with the blood group determines a person's blood type. In order to ensure a successful transfusion the recipient and the donor must have compatible blood, and that's where you come in!

 

"We sometimes ask for specific blood types for specific products to ensure we manage blood needs efficiently," said Col. Ronny Fryar, director of the Army Blood Program. "It also helps us make sure we inform donors whose blood type might make them fantastic donors for a specific product, like plasma or platelets. Our ultimate goal is efficient use of resources and good communication with our dedicated donors to let them know what type of donation fits their type."

 

Read the entire press release on the ASBP website.  

The Actions of Many Save the Life of One                           

 

When a wounded warrior requires enormous amounts of blood, the routine inventory can be quickly depleted. When this happens, on-base blood drives are conducted. The Armed Services Blood Program is proud of the role it plays in saving lives each and every day. The blood collected at our blood donor centers, at our mobile drives and on the frontlines is used to treat ill or injured service members, veterans and their families worldwide. 

PANJWA'I DISTRICT, Afghanistan--On the evening of Nov. 12, Sgt. Adam Lundy found himself in the ROLE 3 hospital at Kandahar Airfield. Just two hours prior, Lundy, an Alliance, Neb., native, was on patrol in the western side of Panjwa'i district, when his platoon struck several IEDs.

Suffering multiple shrapnel wounds, he was medevaced to Role 3 medical facility for further assessment. In spite of having received shrapnel wounds to his face, arms and torso, he was listed in good condition and was able to walk unassisted.

Read the entire story on the ASBP website.


Photo: 1st Lt. Nicholas Vogt, platoon leader with the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, poses for his pre-deployment photo at Fort Wainwright, Alaska.

Village Hardships Inspire Army Reservist to Save Lives                            

 

Army Reserve Capt. Kate Abusomwan, assigned to the Fort Leonard Wood Blood Donor Center in Missouri, knew from her youth that the medical field would be her calling.

 

Enduring a lifetime of hardship in a remote village in Midwestern Nigeria, a young Abusomwan watched children and adults perish because of inadequate health care and few resources. Her mother was pregnant 11 times, but only had six live births. She, her two brothers and three sisters grew up with no electricity and little running water. They retrieved household water from a local well and their home was built with mud and zinc.

 

Despite the circumstances, Abusomwan said she grew up in loving family surroundings with her grandparents providing the greatest influence. Her grandmother was a midwife and her grandfather was a minister.

 

"They always had 'patients' in their clinic, so I grew up seeing women give birth or people being treated for infection and disease," said Abusomwan. "That made me want to help people and see them get the health care they need."  

 

Read the entire story on the ASBP website.  

 

Photo: Army Reserve Capt. Kate Abusomwan (right), Fort Leonard Wood Blood Donor Center operations officer, monitors vitals on Staff Sgt. Torrey Woodcock (left) at the Fort Leonard Wood Blood Donor Center.   

No Uniform Required 

The ASBP Focal Point civilian hero of the month!     

 

In November 2006, Sgt. 1st Class Collin Bowen volunteered to go to Afghanistan. In January 2008, just two weeks before he was scheduled to come home, he was injured by a roadside bomb. Bowen was later placed in Brooke Army Medical Center's intensive care unit burn ward, where he and his family would meet Gary Fisher and his wife Gayle Glasgow.

 

"I still remember the first day I ever met Collin," said Fisher in an email to the Bowen family. "Seeing him laying there, I remember feeling that I needed to do something, but I didn't know what to do. I remember reading all the daily updates, especially the one about Collin using nine pints of blood during an operation. The logs told the tale of a remarkable man."

 

Around the same time, Fisher had received an email about an upcoming Armed Services Blood Program blood drive at Fort Sam Houston, Texas; and it didn't take long before Fisher knew exactly what he was going to do. On Feb. 16, 2008, just before he and Glasgow stopped by the Brooke Army Medical Center to deliver handmade quilts to the wounded warriors and visit Bowen and his family, Fisher went to the Akeroyd Blood Donor Center and donated a pint of blood--and the "10 for Collin" promise was made.

 

"It was then and there that I told Collin that those nine pints would be on me," said Fisher. "Since I knew it was going to take a while to pay back the nine, I would give one extra as interest."

 

Read the entire story on the ASBP website

Photo: LaTonia Stewart reviews Mr. Gary Fisher's donor record.  Fisher has donated over 20 times at the Akeroyd Blood Donor Center in San Antonio, Texas.  

Picture This!

The ASBP Focal Point picture of the month

 

The annual blood drive at West Point is a large-scale joint effort, involving staff members from 11 different locations, including eight military blood donor centers, the Armed Services Whole Blood Processing Laboratory, students from the Specialist in Blood Banking course and the Clinical Lab Officer Course. This year, 95 soldiers, sailors, airmen, and civilians made up the collection team, while another team of 33 military and civilian professionals worked in shifts at Fort Gordon, Ga., to take care of the blood being flown in from the collection site. They made sure each unit of blood was carefully processed into components, tested and labeled correctly, and shipped safely to its destination.     

 

Over 3,000 cadets signed in at the four-day blood drive, at which 1,827 units of blood were successfully collected. The Corps of Cadets were on a mission to beat last year's record total, and though it wasn't a record-breaker, donations exceeded our goal of 1,800 units. It wasn't just United States Military Academy cadets who poured in to donate; Academy instructors, members of the faculty, soldiers and civilian employees from all over the installation, as well as family members and patriotic civilians also rolled up their sleeves. A group of cadets from the USMA Preparatory School, which recently moved to West Point from Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, joined the effort by donating together.

 

Though the mission was serious, there was time for fun. Hank the blood drop was sighted all over campus, reminding cadets to give blood. In this picture, he takes his seat at the VIP table on the second floor (also known as the poop deck) of the cadet mess hall.

 


Read more about the West Point blood drive on the ASBP website.  

Coast Guard Aircrew Flies 900 Miles to Airdrop Blood to Cruise Ship  

 

The Armed Services Blood Program is proud to be able to supply blood to those in need, no matter where they are located. When a cruise ship near the Hawaiian Islands contacted the Coast Guard Joint Rescue Coordination Center in Honolulu, the Tripler Army Medical Center was asked if they could supply blood to a passenger aboard the ship. According to Maj. Jason Corley from the Transfusion Medicine Service at the Tripler Army Medical Center, the blood center was able to provide six units of Type O red blood cells, six units of thawed AB plasma and one unit of apheresis platelets. The last patient update received by the military program stated that the patient did receive some of the blood provided by the Tripler Army Medical Center and that she was stable.

 

HONOLULU--The Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules aircrew flew more than 900 miles to airdrop a package containing blood and medical supplies to a cruise ship northeast of Hilo, Hawaii, on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012.

Medical personnel from the Carnival Spirit contacted the Coast Guard Joint Rescue Coordination Center in Honolulu at approximately 5:30 a.m., requesting medical assistance for an ailing passenger. The ship's on board doctor treated the 67-year-old woman for medical complications and determined that the woman's condition would be stabilized with additional blood.   


Read the entire story on the ASBP website

The Best of the Best of 2011                            

    

Before we leave 2011 behind, we hit the "virtual streets" of our website and Facebook page to compile our list of The Top 12 Stories of 2011. Below you will find stories about some of the military blood program's milestones, ones that reminded us why our donors do what they do, and ones that generated the most buzz with our friends on Facebook. Trust us; because all of our donors are the cream of the crop, it wasn't easy to pick out the "best" stories--nonetheless here is your look back at the best of the best in 2011:

 

Read the entire story on the ASBP website, or check out  each individual story below:  

 

USS George Washington Hosts Blood Drive at Sea  

Paying it Forward: From Recipient to Donor 

A School Project to Change Lives 

Blood, Sweat and Mud 

Six Complete First Apheresis Training at Fort Hood 

One of the Military Blood Program's Own Wins MEDCOM Soldier of the Year 

Dog Days of Summer Blood Drives 

Final Fellowship Graduation Held at Walter Reed 

Jim and Linda Parker Finish Journey in Bethesda 

Focus on What you CAN Do 

Blood Drive Therapy for a 9/11 Survivor 

Army, Navy Duke it Out in Donor Chairs 

 

Photo: The Armed Services Blood Program shares the best of the best stories from 2011. 

Join Our Mailing List!  |  Follow us on Twitter!  |  Become a fan on Facebook!