Photo By Jon Connor | Donating blood is called “the gift of life” for many reasons. Here’s one. (Photo...... read more read more
ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. – The need to give blood is always there.
Fortunately, blood drives are a common thing in our local area. The most recent one was held Jan. 21 inside the Morale, Welfare and Recreation building, next to the post exchange at Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois.
According to Kirby Winn, public relations manager with ImpactLife, about 15 to 18 people donate blood at the arsenal when ImpactLife holds blood drives on the installation.
ImpactLife -- formerly called the Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center -- serves 125 hospitals in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin. It collects blood at 22 fixed-site donor centers and at more than 5,000 mobile blood drives held annually.
Thanks to a change made by the Food and Drug Administration in August 2020, more people are now eligible to donate.
“The big news for us with this change is the ability to bring back a large number of donors who were previously deferred because they were stationed in Europe within this time frame,” Winn said.
Those formerly not able to donate but are now eligible include:
Former or current U.S. military personnel, civilian military personnel, and their family members who were residents on U.S. military bases or living off post in northern Europe (Germany, United Kingdom, Belgium, and the Netherlands) for six months or more from 1980 through 1990; or, on U.S. military bases elsewhere in Europe (Greece, Turkey, Spain, Portugal, and Italy) for six months or more from 1980 through 1996; all may now be eligible.
In a Jan. 25 press release, the Veterans Administration said the former ban prevented 4 million veterans, service members, Civilians and family members from donating blood.
The ban was meant to prevent transmission of a deadly brain disease, commonly known as “mad cow disease.” The formal name is Creutzfeldt Jakob disease.
“So to be clear, the deferral remains in place for travel or residence in the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, Gibraltar, or the Falkland Islands) for a cumulative time of three months or more between 1980 and 1996,” Winn said.
During the Jan. 21 lood drive, Pfc. Philip VanDerHeyden, a human resources specialist in the G1 (Human Resources) Division, U.S. Army Sustainment Command, said this was his first time donating blood.
Capt. James LeCraw, G6 (Information Management), ASC, also attended the blood drive, and said this was approximately his 20th time giving blood.
Mark Kane, public affairs specialist, U.S. Army Garrison-RIA, also attended, and said the last time he donated blood was in 2015.
The Army encourages its personnel to volunteer as candidates for any of the medical donor programs, including blood, bone marrow, and organ donor/transplant programs. Civilian employees can receive up to four hours of administrative leave to donate blood. Donors are required to fill out a leave request, obtain supervisory permission and provide documentation of the donation.
ImpactLife will be holding a blood drive on RIA Feb. 10 from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the donor bus, which will be located outside of the ASC headquarters, building 390. Donors will be offered gift card options to a variety of national retailers as a “thank you” for giving the gift of life.
“Potential donors who have questions about their eligibility for blood donation are encouraged to call ImpactLife at (563) 359-5401. They’ll be referred to a member of our donor scheduling team for specific follow-up on travel, dates, time frames, etc.,” Winn said.
To learn more about the current blood inventory and how donors can help, Winn provided the following link:
https://www.bloodcenter.org/about/news/blog/blood-donors-urgently-needed/
ImpactLife requires masks for donors, staff, and volunteers in all of its facilities and donor buses.
See related article at: https://www.army.mil/article/253422
Editor’s note: Staci-Jill Burnley, ASC Public Affairs, contributed to this article.
| Date Taken: | 02.04.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 02.04.2022 17:52 |
| Story ID: | 414034 |
| Location: | ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 97 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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