Greetings! Welcome to the April edition of Focal Point.

 

First and foremost, I would like to thank Global Healing for honoring me with the privilege of being their keynote speaker at the Second Annual International Blood Safety Forum last month. It was an honor to share one of the most important and global missions of the ASBP that has a significant impact, helping nations create their own sustainable blood programs together with our government and non-government partners so they can better support the blood needs in their countries. I am very proud of the work that we are doing around the world.

In this issue, our news spans the globe as we feature stories from Germany to Japan along with several of our blood donor centers here in the U.S. We also take a look at a monumental first, aboard the USNS Comfort.

 

As always, I encourage everyone to share your stories with us. Our donors, supporters and volunteers are the backbone of the Armed Services Blood Program and we could not save lives without you. Let us know what you are up to and how we can help.

 

You are the Armed Services Blood Program!

 

Respectfully,

Capt. Roland Fahie

ASBP director, Navy Capt. Roland Fahie, delivered the keynote speech at the 2015 Global Healing International Blood Safety Forum Friday, March 20 in Washington, D.C. Read more.

 

Petty Officer 3rd Class Arwin Mejia, a hospital corpsman and a blood bank lab technician, performs a blood platelet aphaeresis aboard the Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20). This marks the first blood platelet aphaeresis ever conducted aboard USNS Comfort, which is currently supporting Continuing Promise 2015. Continuing Promise 2015 is a U.S. Southern Command-sponsored and U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet-conducted deployment to conduct civil-military operations including humanitarian-civil assistance, subject matter expert exchanges, medical, dental, veterinary and engineering support and disaster response to partner nations and to show U.S. support and commitment to Central and South America and the Caribbean. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Andrew Schneider/Released). See more photos.   

After longtime ASBP donor Carol Cox was unable to attend the Kendrick Memorial Blood Center's recent donor appreciation ceremony, leadership from the Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center brought a special ceremony directly to her. Read more of her story.

The U.S. Pacific Command Armed Services Blood Bank Center in Okinawa, Japan, opened a new center March 18 at the U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa. The blood bank provides blood for the entire PACOM area of operations and is supported with the donations to the ASBP.  Check out some of the pictures from opening day here. 

 

Pictured: Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Cherishe Huguely, left,  prepares to remove a needle from Navy Lt. j.g. Nathaniel B. Davis' arm, during a platelet donation on the opening day of the PACOM ASBBC. Huguely, a Richmond, Ky., native, is a laboratory technician at the donor center. Davis, a Long Island, N.Y., native, is assigned to the USNH Okinawa. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Lance Cpl. Janessa K. Pon/ Released)