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Targeting the Blood Needs of the Combat Warrior

STORY ARCHIVE

From the Lab to the Battlefield, Donations Save Lives (Erin Hawkins, ASBP Blood Donor Recruiter, Fort Gordon, Ga.)
For 1st Sgt. Pablo Cadena, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 67th Signal Battalion, donating blood was always a part of being in the Army and a good thing to do, maybe even earning him a little time off as a young soldier. But in June 2008, his relationship with blood changed...

USS Kauffman Rolls Up Its Sleeves (Ralph Peters, ASBP Blood Donor Recruiter, Portsmouth, Va.)
Members aboard the USS Kauffman have been unable to sponsor an ASBP blood drive for quite some time. But recently, they were determined not to let a busy operational schedule and impending inspections stop them from getting the job done. So when the command staff learned that sponsoring a blood drive was a possibility...

Marines’ Blood Saves Afghan Soldier’s Life (Staff Sgt. Brian Buckwalter, Regimental Combat Team 6)
Navy corpsmen anxiously waited for the blood flowing from Lance Cpl. Meng Lu’s arm to fill the bag near his feet. Waiting in the next room was a dying Afghan National Army soldier. Lu’s blood would save his life. Earlier Tuesday morning, the soldier stepped on a pressure plate while on patrol, setting off a roadside bomb that nearly killed him.

U.S. Naval Academy Ends Academic Year with High Marks (Vikki Fernette, ASBP Blood Donor Recruiter, Bethesda, Md.)
Students of the U.S. Naval Academy wrapped up another successful academic year with a record number of blood donations. Under the direction of Lt. Dale Crower, logistics officer and aerial events coordinator, the ASBP has been welcomed at the academy on a monthly basis.

Warriors Come from Warriors: A Mother’s Perspective (Jessica Overbeck, ASBP Staff Writer)
Marilyn Durso cherishes a Mother’s Day gift that she calls “a sweet acknowledgment from a son to his mother.” It’s a shirt with the words “Warriors Come From Warriors” sprawled across the front that her son, Army 1st Lt. Greg Durso, gave her a few years ago while he was attending the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.

Taking a Field Trip with the ASBP (HM1 Erik Torres, ASBP Blood Donor Recruiter, Camp Lejeune, N.C.)
The Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune and the Swansboro High School Health Occupation Clinical Program have spent a few years building a vital relationship. So after a single face-to-face meeting with clinical program facilitators Denise Meekins and Leslie Dick, it was obvious that the relationship would be moving to a new level—sponsoring blood drives.

From “I Do” to We Do-nate (Catherine Tharpe, ASBP Blood Donor Recruiter, Fort Hood, Texas)
After more than nine years of wedded bliss, a local Fort Hood, Texas, couple thought it would be a perfect time to give blood. Recently, Sgt. Justin Caple and his wife, Tracy, came into the Robertson Blood Center to donate as a husband and wife team. The duo spends a lot of time doing activities together...

59th Ordnance Soldiers Donate (Linda Ellerbe, ASBP Blood Donor Recruiter, Fort Bragg, N.C.)
Recently, the 832nd Ordnance Battalion took the lead on a blood drive sponsored by the 59th Ordnance Brigade at Fort Lee, Va. Every nine weeks the command supports the ASBP by lining up their soldiers to donate blood. Their most recent blood drive produced nearly 100 units, and since one donation can save up to three lives—that’s a lot of lives saved!

Social Media Helps Save Young Girl’s Life (Michelle Lele, ASBP Blood Donor Recruiter, Tripler Army Medical Center, Hawaii)
Sending out a call for blood and blood products used to be a lot more complicated; but social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are making collecting blood much easier. In fact, when the family of young Haley, used social media to share her story, her life was changed forever.

Call Goes Out, Donors Come In (Tracy Parmer, ASBP Blood Donor Recruiter, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas)
When the Lackland Blood Donor Center received a special request for O-positive and O-negative blood, they knew just who to call—their loyal donors. In true military fashion, when the call went out, it didn’t take long for the donors to start coming in. One of the first donors to respond to the call was retired Chief John Simmons...

Man’s Best Friend Inspires Huge Blood Drive (Mike Peacock, ASBP Blood Donor Recruiter, Landstuhl, Germany)
Recently the military community of the Wiesbaden Army Airfield in Germany conducted the largest blood drive in the community in more than five years. There have been many drives with a variety of sponsors taking the lead for the lifesaving events, but this one was just a little bit different.

345th Training Squadron Saves Lives Downrange (Ralph Peters, ASBP Blood Donor Recruiter, Portsmouth Va.)
The 345th Training Squadron is responsible for training both enlisted Air Force and Navy personnel in specialized fields and will graduate up to 2,300 students each year. So when it transferred to Fort Lee, Va., in June 2010, it didn’t take long to figure out that the squadron would be a vital asset to the ASBP.

Blood Battle at Belvoir (Azeb Gordon, ASBP Blood Donor Recruiter, Fort Belvoir, Va.)
After the 2011 Army-Navy Blood Donor Challenge, the spirit of competition was running high at the Fort Belvoir Community Hospital blood donor center. So recently, personnel in the pharmacy, laboratory and radiology departments were given another chance to duke it out in donor chairs.

Collecting Blood from the Military, for the Military (Linda Ellerbe, ASBP Blood Donor Recruiter, Fort Bragg, N.C.)
Approximately 90 percent of the blood collected by the Fort Bragg Blood Donor Center is collected from soldiers between the ages of 19 and 22—creating a perfect opportunity to partner with the Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers program. Following the lead of Sgt. Tiffany Anderson...