Photo By Sgt. Nevada Jack Smith | U.S. Army Sgt. Jullian Hodges, 440th Blood Support Detachment, goes over patient...... read more read more
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TARIN KOWT, Afghanistan – The sight of a soldier’s blood is never a good thing. Except, when losing a little now, can be the difference between life and death later.
Soldiers from the 440th Blood Support Detachment conducted a blood donor pre-screen drive at Multinational Base Tarin Kot, May 17, 2012.
“We are doing this donor pre-screening as part of what we call a emergency whole blood bank,” said U.S. Army Sgt. Jullian Hodges, 440th BSD.
Blood supplies aren’t always available in theater, and sometimes current supplies can be low. Because of that, the U.S. Army has a program that helps meet supply when there is a greater demand. It’s called a walking blood bank.
“Today we are pre-screening soldiers so we know whether or not they are safe to draw blood from,” said Hodges. “In the event of a mass casualty situation, we can call in donors that have been cleared.”
Though it’s a theater-wide operation, the walking blood bank is more than just a program. Every individual soldier who has volunteered to give their blood is literally a “walking blood bank.”
“It could end up saving your mates life one day,” said Australian Sapper Emily Littlewood, a soldier with Combined Team Uruzgan.
“I would donate blood monthly if asked,” said Australian Lance Cpl. Alex French.
“Not every place you have soldiers stationed can hold blood or blood products,” said Hodges. “The whole donor list is really a last resort in case of emergencies, but without it sometimes there would be deaths. It definitely helps save lives.”
The program does more than save lives though. It gives the soldiers who donate the satisfaction of helping their comrades, and lets the soldiers outside the wire know that they will be well taken care of.
“If it keeps a soldier alive, I’m happy to bleed for them,” said Australian Maj. Simon Grace, operations analyst with Headquarters CTU.
| Date Taken: | 05.17.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 05.23.2012 02:25 |
| Story ID: | 88844 |
| Location: | TARIN KOWT, AF |
| Web Views: | 142 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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