FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — When the Fort Leonard Wood Blood Donor Center called for donors the last two weeks of December, the post community answered in strong fashion.
Nearly 300 service members and civilians made themselves available to give blood to the Armed Services Blood Program between Dec. 19 and 31, a time of year that’s traditionally very difficult for blood collections.
“It’s amazing to see people’s compassion for their fellow man and their desire to help others,” said Capt. Marianne Rose, Fort Leonard Wood Blood Donor Center chief. “Not many people were still around Fort Leonard Wood for the holidays, but many who were came by to donate. We thank everyone that came out.”
The donated blood came from a variety of sources. A handful of walk-in donors started the two-week push on Dec. 19, as Holiday Block Leave first began; service members and civilians with the General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital followed on Dec. 20, with 50 donors raising their hands to give in the hospital’s Primary Care conference room; nearly 70 service members in training here, who remained on post during the holidays, gave on Dec. 27 at the donor center; and a blood drive at the Main Exchange on Dec. 28 rounded out the holiday giving, with 20 people heading to the donor beds.
“For the Exchange, it’s always an honor to help our military community any way we can,” said Nelly Alvarado, with the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, who added this was her first time donating blood. “It was also an honor for me to give blood because I know blood can help save lives. The process was super fast and easy, and the impact it will have on helping others was well worth the time.”
The ASBP is the official blood collection and transfusion agency for the Department of Defense. The military healthcare system requires hundreds of units of blood every day and it’s the ASBP’s mission to make sure that is available — even during the holidays.
“That’s why people, like our walk-in donors, GLWACH staff, the Holiday Block Leave holdovers and everyone who donated at the Main Exchange are so important,” Rose said. “They heard we had a need for donors and did something about it. Their donations not only showed their compassion for their brothers and sisters in arms during this giving time of year, but helped ensure we had an ample amount of blood available to those in need. For that we say a heart-felt ‘thank you.’”
For more information about the donor center here, or to schedule a blood drive, call 573.596.6150 or email carl.a.norman2.civ@health.mil.
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