| Armed Services Blood Program Newsletter |
February 8, 2011 | | | | From the Desk of: COL Francisco Rentas, Director, ASBPO | | | National Blood Donor Month has come to an end, and what a great start to a new year it was! Thank you to all those who shared stories, videos and pictures, and to all the loyal donors who continued to give blood to support our service members worldwide. A very good example of this support was our annual West Point blood drive which saw over 2,100 units collected! With Valentine's Day right around the corner, we highlight blood compatibility, couples that volunteer and donate together and a heart clinic filled with faithful donors. Thanks to everyone who make the ASBP a success. Let's keep up the good work to ensure that injured and ill service members, veterans and their families will get to spend this and many future Valentine's Days together. Warm regards, COL Francisco Rentas
| | What Gets Your Heart Pumpin'?  It is all about the heart this month! Did you know: Your heart beats about 100,000 times a day and circulates the body's blood supply about 1,000 times per day. Joined end-to-end, all the blood vessels in your body would stretch about 60,000 miles. (That's 2 1/2 times around the Earth!) Each minute, an adult heart (which is about the size of a clenched fist, or about 8 ounces for women and 10 ounces for men) pumps about 5 quarts of blood a day, that's almost 2,000 gallons!
It takes about 20 seconds to circulate blood through the entire human body.
Find these and more heart and blood facts from Portage Health or Saint John's Health Center. | | Blood, Sweat and Steel Girders
Donating blood may not rank high on the to-do list after a day of laying concrete, placing steel beams and tacking dry wall. But for the Balfour Beatty Construction and Clark Construction companies giving blood for the troops is an honor. 
So, in the midst of construction and heavy equipment, workers from the two companies made a point to stop by the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., to donate blood and platelets to the Armed Services Blood Program. At the center, each military blood drive is dedicated to a service member. The first drive honored fallen Sgt. Forest Dane Cauthorn. The turnout was so great, that additional blood drives were held, and by the end of the fourth drive on Jan. 4, 2011, the National Naval Medical Center collected 214 whole blood units, which will be shipped to Iraq and Afghanistan ready to save the lives of those in need. Read the entire article on the ASBP website. Photo: Clark Construction employee, Mitch Vowler, makes his second donation to the ASBP at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. | | | Are You My Type? Compatibility: Capable of existing together in harmony. When most of us hear that word this time of year we think of Valentine's Day. A holiday for those in love and those searching for love. But, the ASBP encourages all of its donors to think about compatibility in a new way this year: blood type compatibility. Blood types are determined by the presence or absence of the Rh antigen in addition to the person's blood group (A, B, AB or O). In order for a transfusion to be successful, blood types must be matched between the donor and the recipient. Blood can be needed at any time, and since compatibility is such an important factor in a successful transfusion, it is important to know which blood types are compatible. Learn more about the perfect match for your blood type here. | |  Check Out the New ASBP You Tube Channel!
The ASBP debuts its new You Tube channel featuring the latest videos, interviews, public service announcements and more! Stay tuned with the ASBP by subscribing to our channel. | | | Picture This! The ASBP Focal Point picture of the month | These great couples are donating and working together to save lives!  Gunnery Sgt. Jim Joint and his wife, Staff Sgt. Jhomara Joint, always find a way to volunteer, so it is no surprise that the married couple decided to donate blood at the ASBP blood drive at Camp Pendleton, Calif. After meeting at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., in 2002, Jim and Jhomara Joint have been married for eight years. The couple has spent a combined 19 years in the military and both continue to find ways around their busy schedules to volunteer to help others. Read the entire article on the ASBP website. Staff Sgt. Brian VanBruggen spent two days of hard-earned vacation in the ASBP's military blood donor center at Fort Hood, Texas, helping to run a blood drive because of his wife. For three days, the pair assisted with donor registration and recruited more donors to support the military blood drive held in the Robertson Blood Center at Fort Hood, Texas. Read the entire article on the ASBP website. 
Photos: (Top Left) Spouses Staff Sgt. Jhomara Joint (left) and Gunnery Sgt. Jim Joint (right), proudly volunteer to donate blood to the ASBP at the Camp Pendleton Blood Donor Center, Calif.
(Bottom Right) Staff Sgt. Brian VanBruggen and his wife, Margaret, host an ASBP blood drive at the Robertson Blood Center at Fort Hood, Texas. | Caring from the Heart Clinic
 Many employees of the Dwight David Eisenhower Army Medical Center, take their motto, "Caring from the heart," well... to heart. The team has been known to donate blood to care for their patients and support troops downrange. Carol Cox, a cardiac sonographer in the cardiology clinic, is no exception. She has been a faithful blood donor since college, and recently reached a milestone-her 50th blood donation at Fort Gordon, Ga. Army Maj. Warren Brown, officer-in-charge of the Kendrick Memorial Blood Center at Ft. Gordon, presented Cox with a special ASBP coin to mark the occasion. Read the entire article on the ASBP website. Photo: Maj. Warren Brown, officer-in-charge of the Kendrick Memorial Blood Center at Fort Gordon, Ga., presents Carol Cox, a cardiac sonorgrapher in the cardiology clinic of the Dwight David Eisenhower Army Medical Center, with an ASBP coin for accomplishing the milestone of 50 blood donations. | | | | | | | | |
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