Our supply in short supply; Blood Program officials urge service members to donate
CAMP LESTER, Okinawa (June 15, 2007) -- Officials with the Armed Service Blood Program are looking for donors to contribute blood to bolster their depleting supply.
http://www.okinawa.usmc.mil/Public%20Affairs%20Info/Archive%20News%20Pages/2007/070615-blood.html
Lance Cpl. Tyler J. Hlavac
But as blood program officials are painfully aware, not everyone can contribute.
The problem the blood bank here is facing is not necessarily a lack of volunteers to give blood, but a lack of qualified volunteers, said Air Force Capt. Katrina Ghazanfar, the deputy director for the Armed Services Blood Program on Okinawa.
Deployments to countries where there is a high risk of contracting malaria, such as Guam, South Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan or the Philippines, often make a service member ineligible to give blood for up to one year, said Ghazanfar.
Additionally, recent tattoos or vaccinations can disqualify donors.
"Some vaccinations make blood unsafe to donate, such as the small-pox vaccine, which can disqualify you for up to three weeks," she said. "The anthrax vaccination however, will not disqualify a donor."
Also, the annual permanent change of station season affects the blood bank supply, said Tracy Parmer, the program's blood donor recruiter.
"With the PCS season upon us, our number of volunteers often decreases and newcomers to the island often don't know where or when they can give blood," she said.
As a result of these factors, blood bank officials are asking all qualified donors, to include family members and civilians, to donate at the blood bank located next to the Naval Hospital here or take part in an upcoming blood drive.
In addition to benefiting members of all services, much of the blood received also goes to children in terminal care, Ghazanfar said.
"We have children who are born with serious illnesses that require a lot of blood for survival," she said.