Need for blood donations grows

RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) -- With a smaller pool of eligible military donors and a recently decreased stock of frozen blood, the Air Force assistant vice chief of staff is calling on servicemembers and their families to donate blood.

In a recent memo to the field, Lt. Gen. Joseph Wehrle asked airmen worldwide to support the January observance of National Volunteer Blood Donor Month by rolling up their sleeves and giving the gift of life.

"Blood safety and availability are inseparable requirements for ensuring optimal care of our active-duty troops, retirees, military spouses and children," he said. "Unfortunately, current federal regulations barring donations from (people) who have served time in Europe have resulted in a 25-percent drop in eligible donors on Air Force bases."

Besides fewer donors, the frozen blood supply took a hit recently when the Armed Services Blood Program Office asked the military to withdraw frozen blood supplies donated during last summer's West Nile virus epidemic to avoid transmitting the potentially fatal disease to recipients.

Those factors, combined with a historical trend of fewer blood donations in the winter months, would make the need for blood more urgent in any year. That need is even more urgent today, taking into consideration current world events including a possible war with Iraq.

"At this time, with American forces actively fighting the war on terrorism and with hundreds of thousands of military (people) deployed in support of expeditionary operations throughout the world, I want to personally encourage everyone who can give blood, to do so," Wehrle said.

Leaders of the nation's blood banking community are seeking a nationwide donation of 1.2 million units of blood during January. Military and civilian blood collection officials said donors with Type AB blood are especially needed, because AB is the universal blood plasma type.

"To avert critical blood shortages this winter, we need citizens across the country to schedule an appointment to donate blood," said Jim MacPherson, chief executive officer of America's Blood Centers. "Blood has a shelf life of only 42 days, which means it constantly needs to be replenished. Donors can give blood every 56 days, or six times a year."

Fewer than 5 percent of healthy Americans eligible to donate blood actually donate each year, according to information from the American Association of Blood Banks. To be eligible to donate blood, a person must be in good health and usually must be at least 17 years old. Minimum weight requirements may vary among facilities, but generally, donors must weigh at least 110 pounds. Most blood banks have no upper age limit. All donors must pass the physical and health history examinations given before donation.

"This selfless act helps us take care of our own, the hallmark of our military tradition," Wehrle said. (Courtesy of Air Education and Training Command News Service. Army Spc. Chuck Wagner contributed to this story.)