Drive gives chance to give back

  • Published
  • By Sheila Rupp
  • Nucleus Journalist
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, New Mexico --  The William Beaumont Army Medical Center will be here for an Armed Services Blood Program blood drive May 14 from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. and May 15 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. The drive will be held in the Rio Grande Conference Center.

The ASBP was established formally in 1952 as the Military Blood Program as part of the National Blood Program by a presidential order. Today, the ASBP comprises approximately 81 blood banks and blood donor centers around the globe, including 21 Food and Drug Administration license blood donor centers.

Blood donation is an important part of life-saving medical procedures because there is no substitute for human blood. With advancing technologies in medicine, blood is needed to sustain patients during these procedures. Blood products cannot be stored indefinitely so there is a constant need for donations. Red blood cells must be used within 35-42 days of collection for the safety of the recipient. Platelets have an even shorter shelf life - they must be used within five days of collection.

The ASBP supplies blood and blood products to more than 1.3 million servicemembers and their families worldwide. Every year military hospitals transfuse more than 54,000 units of red blood cells, 20,000 units of plasma and 5,000 units of platelets.

The entire blood donation process takes only about 45 minutes from the initial screening to the recovery period, with the actual blood draw taking only about 10 minutes.

An individual can donate blood every eight weeks. Donors must be at least 110 pounds and 17 years of age. Those with cold or flu-like symptoms should wait to donate until symptoms are gone. An individual's system should be free of antibiotics for three days prior to donation. Pregnant women and those that have had a tattoo or piercing within the last year are not eligible to donate. To donate blood, an individual should be well hydrated and should eat something prior to donating. For information on donation restrictions and deferrals, visit http://www. militaryblood.dod.mil/CanIDonate/index.cfm.

To avoid waiting in lines at the donation collection site, appointments can be made at http://militarylifeforce.com/. All site users must register and create a profile in order to make an appointment.

Those that cannot donate can volunteer to go with friends, family and co-workers for moral support. They can also help cover shifts so that everyone that is eligible to donate can and encourage others to donate.