Blood program bleeds red, white and blue for deployed servicemembers

  • Published
  • By Sheila Rupp
  • Nucleus journalist
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  A trauma victim may need 40 or more pints of blood. That might sound like a large amount and considering that an average adult's body contains about 10 pints of blood, it is. Advancements in medicine have made more life-saving techniques and procedures available, which means that more blood is needed to sustain patients through major surgeries.

The Armed Services Blood Program is a blood center that supplies blood and blood products for more than 1.3 million servicemembers and their families around the world. The ASBP was formed in 1952 by Presidential Order as a joint field operating agency. The program's mission is: "To provide quality blood products, blood substitutes, and services for all worldwide customers in peace and war." Sue Pearson, base blood program coordinator, says the blood is currently used for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and also for military members and their dependents worldwide.

The ASBP maintains 65,000 units of frozen blood and 5,000 units of liquid cells at all times. The ASBP relies on donations from servicemembers and if supply levels cannot be sustained from blood drives held on military installations, the ASBP must purchase blood from civilian agencies, where a pint of blood can cost $250 and may not always be available.

Each blood donation can help up to three people and a single pint of blood can sustain the life of a premature baby for two weeks. Each year, military hospitals transfuse more than 54,000 units of red cells; 20,000 units of plasma; and 5,000 units of platelets.

Here, William Beaumont Army Medical Center sponsors the ASBP drives and collects the blood for the ASBP. William Beaumont Army Medical Center visits Kirtland every other month, Ms. Pearson said. She said blood drives hosted here are very important for the ASBP because some bases don't make their donation goals or don't have high goals like the 150 units Kirtland is striving for at the upcoming drive.

Ms. Pearson said that there is currently a shortage of type AB blood and the need is high for type O negative and type O positive. According to the ASBP only 4 percent of the U.S. population has AB blood types and only 7 percent of the population has O negative blood. Donors with O type blood are especially important because type O blood is considered to be a "universal" blood type because it can be given to anyone in an emergency situation before it can be determined what the victim's blood type is. All blood types are needed to maintain supplies.

Ms. Pearson said individuals can give blood every eight weeks, as long as they fit the eligibility requirements. Donors must be at least 110 pounds, 17 years old, have not had a tattoo or brand in the past year, have not had any piercing within the last year or be pregnant. There are also other criteria for donation and information on donating that be found at http://www.militaryblood.dod.mil/donor_info/.

Donors will be required to fill out a questionnaire, submit to a brief interview with a staff member and undergo a short physical assessment.

The next ASBP blood drive is Nov. 14 from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. and Nov. 15 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. The drive will be held at the Rio Grande Conference Center.

"We don't want to say one blood drive is better than the other," said Col. Robert E. Suminsby Jr., 377th Air Base Wing commander. "We just want to make the pie larger by encouraging new donors."