Aviano undergoes blood bank inspection

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Amy Velasquez
  • Detachment 8, Air Force News Agency
Military blood bank inspectors from Maryland visited Aviano Air Base in late January to verify lab technicians are storing blood donations correctly.

Inspections occur every other year; this year the inspectors visited Italy, Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom.

"We check all of the records, we check the blood and make sure that it's coming in properly ... (we check to see if they are) following their procedures and those that mimic what the Food and Drug Administration has set out for them," said Navy Capt. Joyce Watson, one of the inspectors.

Storing blood correctly is especially important for military blood banks since their supply is the only blood that goes to injured military members in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Senior Airman Curtis Reando, a lab technician with the 31st Medical Operations Group.

"The military has certain stipulations on who can receive blood and who we can take blood from," Airman Reando said. "We have blood donor centers throughout the United States and Europe that can take blood from active duty members, DOD civilians, and dependents."

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