Red, white and blue: Service members given opportunity to donate blood

  • Published
  • By Karen Abeyasekere
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  A mobile blood donor team is scheduled to be at RAF Mildenhall Feb. 25 collecting blood from the military community. This year's slogan is, "Give to the red, white and blue."

The team, from the Armed Services Blood Bank Center-Europe, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, will be at the Bob Hope Community Center from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Service members, family members, retirees and Department of Defense civilians are invited to donate.

"The ASBP supplies blood and blood products for 1.3 million service members and their families across the nation and around the globe every year," said Capt. Jason Jacobsen, 48th Medical Support Squadron, RAF Lakenheath, chief of laboratory services from Tacoma, Washington. "This means blood must be available for routine military medical treatment facility operations, as well as contingency operations.

"Additionally, blood can be separated into three main components - red blood cells, platelets and plasma, so a donor could potentially save up to three lives with a single donation," he said.

All members of the military community are invited to donate blood, providing the following restrictions are met:

The following are currently excluded from donating blood:
  • Anyone having a cold, flu or fever
  • Anyone having had acupuncture in the past 12 months
  • Anyone weighing less than 110 pounds
  • Anyone who has lived in the U.K. or Europe for five years or more since Jan. 1, 1980, to present
  • Anyone who has lived in other European countries between 1980 and 1996
  • Anyone who has spent three months or more in the U.K. between 1980 and 1996 (related to Bovine Spongiform Encephalomyelitis)
  • Anyone who spent six months or more at a military installation in Belgium, Netherlands (Holland), or Germany from 1980 to 1990
  • Anyone who has traveled to Iraq, Eastern Turkey, Afghanistan or western provinces of Saudi Arabia (excluding the high altitude areas of Asir Province and the urban areas of Jeddah, Mecca, Medina, Riyadh and Taif/Prince Sultan Air Base) in the last year
  • Anyone who has traveled to South Korea within the last two years, and was north of Seoul at any time
  • Anyone who has had Hepatitis after their 11th birthday
  • Anyone who has HIV, or has ever tested positive for HIV
  • Any female who is pregnant or has been pregnant in the last six weeks
Please note, there is a one year deferral for anyone having tattoos and/or permanent make-up performed outside the U.S. Anyone having had a tattoo in any of the following listed states, cannot currently donate but must wait 12 months. All other states (not listed) are acceptable one week after acquiring the tattoo.
  • 12-month wait: California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Utah and Wyoming
Donors must be a minimum age of 17, but there is no upper age restriction.

Jacobsen explained that the phlebotomy process takes approximately 45 minutes to one hour to complete, with the actual donation taking roughly 10 minutes. Blood donations are then labelled and sent to the blood bank center in Landstuhl, where whole blood donations are separated into red blood cells and plasma.

"A combination of pre-donation screening and rigorous testing ensures the safety of the blood," the laboratory services chief said. "Each unit is critical when you consider 40 or more units may be needed for a single trauma victim, eight units of platelets may be required daily by leukemia patients undergoing treatment, and a single pint of blood can sustain a premature infant's life for two weeks."

By giving an hour of time and a pint of blood, Team Mildenhall members can help save lives countless times over.