A new whole-blood donation process here will now be forwarded on to the Armed Services Blood Program as a suggested technique to be implemented throughout the Department of Defense. 

The process, implemented by Capt. Ronni Leslie, the 332nd Expeditionary Aeromedical Squadron laboratory officer in charge, calls for the same tests required for apheresis or platelet donations to be given to whole-blood donations.

"With this protocol, we're providing a safer product for everybody," Captain Leslie said.

For apheresis or platelet donations, donors undergo a prescreening for infectious diseases, which is valid for 30 days, and are tested each time they donate. Once the test results confirm the donor is free from infection, their name is added to a list of people who can be called if there is a need for platelets. Now these same procedures are applied to whole-blood donations at Balad Air Base.

"We basically took the process that was in place (for platelet donations) and used it for whole blood," said Captain Leslie.

Those who have donated platelets before at the AFTH, especially those with rare blood types, may be asked if they would like to be whole-blood donors as well. Members of the hospital staff who are donors are tapped first because of their close proximity to patients who need blood.

"By using in-house prescreened hospital staff as donors, her new prescreening process will not only prevent transfusion-transmitted diseases, but also dramatically reduce the time it takes for blood delivery from hours to mere minutes," said Col. Robert Ritter, the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Support Squadron commander. "Every minute counts in these severe trauma cases, and with Captain Leslie's planning and preparation, the lab team is ready to provide fresh, whole blood at a moment's notice."

In the past, during emergency situations, prescreening processes were not used.

"Whole-blood drives are only done in cases of extreme emergency, for example (in cases where) the patient has lost all their own blood," Captain Leslie said. "Only three individuals in the hospital can initiate a whole-blood drive, the trauma czar, the anesthesiologist or the surgeon of the day."

During the previous air expeditionary force rotation there were two whole-blood drives initiated to save the lives of two servicemembers.

"There were Soldiers who were coming in with multiple wounds -- amputees -- they had received more than 100 (blood) products before they actually called for a whole-blood drive," Captain Leslie said. "Within an hour of receiving whole-blood products the patients stabilized after getting only two units."

There are certain requirements donors must meet before beginning the screening process.

"Anyone who meets the weight requirement, travel requirement and hemoglobin count is a good candidate," Captain Leslie said. 

According to the Armed Services Blood Program, the body that governs the procedures used by the military regarding collecting, testing, processing and storing blood products, 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.

"Though many medical advances are helping save lives in the field, nothing can take the place of blood," said Col. G. Michael Fitzpatrick, the ASBP director, in a letter on the ASBP Web site. "Bandages with clotting agents can help slow bleeding, but once blood is lost it must be replaced. That's what makes blood donors so important. We really can't do it without them. They truly save lives every day." 

"Captain Leslie is one of our stars on an unbelievably talented lab team," said Colonel Ritter. "Her unmatched expertise was pivotal in devising procedures to guarantee a safe supply of life-saving blood in the theater's most critical trauma cases."

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