Photo By Senior Airman Jarrett Smith | A C-12J Huron from the 459th Airlift Squadron taxis at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Aug....... read more read more
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YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan—
Airmen from the 374th Medical Group hosted a blood drive at the Samurai Fitness Center at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Aug. 21-22, 2024.
The blood drive brought in approximately 182 donors and roughly 81,900 milliliters of blood, to bolster military medical readiness for bases across the Indo-Pacific region.
Master Sgt. Terrance Raybon, 374th Medical Support Squadron clinical laboratory flight chief, recognized the absence of a blood drive on mainland Japan and coordinated with numerous supporting agencies from both Japan and the U.S. to make the event possible.
“We needed to fortify ourselves and the rest of the Indo-Pacific (area of responsibility),” Raybon said. “We're trying to make sure that we have a better supply, and that the supply is able to spread out.”
Staff Sgt. Stefanie Taitano, 374th Medical Support Squadron clinical laboratory transfusion services NCOIC, said that Yokota has not hosted an event like this for many years.
"This is the first blood drive we've had at Yokota for almost a decade,” she said. “Blood saves lives, and a single donation can potentially save three lives. This drive is crucial for readiness.”
After the donations were collected from the blood drive, they were transported to the Armed Services Blood Bank Center in Okinawa using two C-12J Hurons provided by the 459th Airlift Squadron.
Armed Services Blood Bank Centers from Okinawa, Japan, and the U.S. Pacific Northwest played major roles in the blood drive by bringing supplies and medical lab technicians to assist.
Other various agencies also supported the event, including the 374th Logistics Readiness Squadron, 613th Air Operations Center, Yokota American Red Cross, Yokota USO, Yokota Civil Air Patrol, and the Yokota Commissary.
“I can't express enough appreciation to everyone that helped make this happen,” Taitano said. “Everyone in the community has been overwhelmingly positive and responsive with this, and I'm very happy with the response overall, not just from Japan but the entire AOR.”
Raybon said another goal of the blood drive was to provide a “proof of concept” that in-residence medical professionals can conduct a blood drive on mainland Japan. The next is scheduled to occur six months from now at Yokosuka Naval Station.
“We want to be able to have this as a continued rotation,” Raybon said. “We want to show how many donors are out here so we can fortify our blood donation capabilities.”
| Date Taken: | 08.23.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.27.2024 21:09 |
| Story ID: | 479479 |
| Location: | YOKOTA AIR BASE, TOKYO, JP |
| Web Views: | 49 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, ‘A Positive’ experience: Yokota medics revive mainland blood drive, by SrA Jarrett Smith, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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