The summer season marks a period of time for service members and civilian personnel to take leave and enjoy some travel and leisure.

It's also an opportunity for service members, staff and beneficiaries to drop by Naval Medical Center Portsmouth (NMCP) to support the Armed Services Blood Program through donations of whole blood or platelets, which directly support saving patients' lives domestically and abroad in theater.

So far this summer, Blood Services has only been able to provide 30 percent of the donation requirement, requiring them to spend thousands of dollars weekly to purchase blood products in order to compensate for the 70 percent deficit.

Donations remain critical year round, but during the summer months, the center sees a drop.

"If we have available supply and are able to provide those products to the point of injury in theater, that service member's chances of survival triples," said Lt. Fae Ramirez, officer-in-charge of Blood Services.
The center is seeking all blood types, especially those with Type O-negative, which serves as the universal blood type.

Donors should keep in mind that whole blood products are not the only types of donations donors can make. Ramirez said they have a great need for blood platelets.

Blood platelets, tiny cells that help the body form clots to stop bleeding, only have a maximum shelf life of five days. Low donations and necessary medical testing of the transfusion tubes prolong the time it takes to get usable blood platelets on the shelf, making timing of the essence to get blood platelets to patients. The need for blood platelets consistently stays high due to its short shelf life. In addition, all cardiac procedures in the operating room are required to have a minimum of two platelet products at all times.

"It was maybe the second or third time I came here to make a platelet donation, one of the nurses here mentioned that she was happy to see me because there was a baby waiting for my platelet donation," said Information Systems Technician (IDW/SW) 2nd Class Joseph Halatyn. "That really opened my eyes, because if they are assigning platelet donations in advance from people who are coming to donate, they must really be in need."

As far as the donation experience itself, Halatyn describes the staff as "100 percent amazing."

"They're always so knowledgeable here, they're super professional," Halatyn said. "There's nothing to it - bring a book if you want. You're just sitting there for an hour, maybe a little more, but the time is negligible."

Blood Services Center staff share that donors can donate whole blood products every 56 days or donate platelets every seven days with a maximum of 24 times in a 12-month rolling period. Donors should not take aspirin within 48 - 72 hours of making a donation and should not have Motrin or nonsteroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, within 24 hours of making a donation. Service members, dependents over the age of 18, staff and those who have access to NMCP over the age of 18 are eligible to donate.

Donors can give blood products year round, but Blood Services will hold monthly blood drives on Aug. 15, Sept. 13, Oct. 10, Nov. 8, and Dec. 5 in the NMCP auditorium.

The Blood Services Center is located in Bldg. 2, first floor, next to the Laboratory Department. Appointments for platelet donations can be made by calling NMCP at (757) 953-1625. To find out more about the Armed Services Blood Program, or the location of a mobile blood drive, visit www.militaryblood.dod.mil, or follow @militaryblood on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube and Pinterest.

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