Photo By Max Lonzanida | Yorktown, Va. (February 27, 2024) Marines assigned to the Marine Corps Security Force...... read more read more
Yorktown, Va. (February 27, 2024). Scores of Marines assigned to the Marine Corps Security Force Regiment (MCSFR) onboard NWS Yorktown took time out of their training day to donate life saving blood. They were joined by Sailors and Civilians as part of an Armed Services Blood Program (ASBP) blood drive hosted by the MCSFR.
The donation process started with a queue of Marines and Sailors in line outside one of the MCSFR’s Fleet Anti-Terror Security Team (FAST) Company training building. Once inside, Sailors and Civilians from Naval Medical Center Portsmouth and the Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Portsmouth quickly checked donors in and completed donor registration. From there, donors cycled through a station that was setup to conduct health screenings before transitioning donors to reclining to collect whole blood. The entire process, from start to finish, took less than 45 minutes for most well hydrated donors. That time period also accounted for recovery and observation time, where many indulged in the snacks and drinks that were provided to donors before resuming their training and various roles onboard NWS Yorktown and nearby Cheatham Annex.
The Department of Defense (DOD) established the Armed Forces Blood Donor Program in 1952, during the height of the Korean War. It later evolved to today’s ASBP, which encompasses a joint operation that brings together Army, Navy, Air Force and combatant command blood programs. The ASBP has over 20 blood donation centers worldwide, including one at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth. This particular blood drive was the first of several planned blood drives hosted by the MCSFR in the coming months. Additionally, this blood drive onboard NWS Yorktown is one of several planned drives across all of the military installations on the Virginia Peninsula with the goal of maintaining adequate supplies of blood.
Ralph Peters, Blood Donor Recruiter and Public Affairs Point of Contact for the ASBP noted that “there is always a need for blood and blood products as fresh blood lasts approximately 45 days. We especially need type O blood, because more people who need life saving donations can accept type O blood products.” Peters also noted that the ASBP is the Department of Defense’s Blood Donor Program, and is responsible for providing blood and blood products for all active duty, family members and dependents worldwide.
The program ships blood products weekly for deployed forces in uniform, and also works diligently to replenish the supply of adequate blood products for the nation’s Rapid Deployment Forces. Peters also noted the multiple options for donating blood; which spanned the gauntlet from their main donor center located at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth to blood drives hosted onboard military installations or DoD leased facilities. He noted that there is always a need, and that a single whole blood unit donated during a blood drive or at a donation center can potentially save three lives. Blood must also be available to military hospitals for scheduled and emergency procedures.
Lastly, Peters noted that “we are in constant need of whole blood at federal installations in the Hampton Roads Region,” and they are always seeking opportunities to visit commands in the region to host blood drives like this one. Interested commands can contact him directly at Ralph.K.Peters.Civ@health.mil or they can call him at (757) 953-1686. Additional information, including scheduling appointments for blood donations can be found by visiting www.health.mil/militaryblood.
| Date Taken: | 02.29.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 02.29.2024 14:26 |
| Story ID: | 465013 |
| Location: | YORKTOWN , VA, US |
| Web Views: | 100 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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