FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. -- Recently, Beverly Wilkerson donated blood for the first time to the Armed Services Blood Program. For her, it was a long, life-changing road to the Fort Leonard Wood Blood Donor Center. But that didn't stop this administrative assistant at the General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital adjutant's office from vowing to help save lives, as she had once been saved.
Wilkerson's journey began in 1998 when, at 31 years old, she became ill and went to a nearby emergency room. Doctors found she was anemic and needed two units of blood. After running a battery of tests, doctors transfused her and sent her home.
The following weekend Wilkerson again found herself in a nearby emergency room needing blood. After a more intense examination, doctors found Wilkerson had a blood clot in her lung and a large tumor in her uterine wall. She was bleeding heavily and needed surgery to live. In all, Wilkerson used 15 units of blood and two units of plasma in her three-week battle for life.
After anesthesia from the medical procedures caused her hair to start falling out, Wilkerson began reflecting on her situation. "I remember my Dad saying that my hair was falling out because the blood I received came from a bald guy," she said with a chuckle.
But she said that made her start thinking about where the blood she received really did come from. "Somewhere, there are 17 people out there that I owe my life to," she said.
"Donating blood just seems like what I need to do to say 'thanks.' It's something we can all do."
In addition to her surgery, Wilkerson has battled her weight from childhood. In her lifetime, she's topped the scales at more than 400 pounds, which caused her to have high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. This limited her ability to give blood.
But in April 2011, she changed her diet and started exercising. Since then, she's lost more than 140 pounds and is on her way to losing more. She's been taken off three of her four medications and hopes to be taken off the final one in April. This, she said, is not only good for her overall health, but allows her to donate blood and help others.
"Donating makes me feel good--what comes around goes around," she said. "All I want to do is help others like they helped save my life."
Wilkerson admits to always being curious about her blood type. She's AB-positive, which makes her happy because it's a 50-50 mixture of her mother, who is a type A, and her father, who is type B. "Plus I have the second rarest type of blood, which means I can help more people when donating," she said.
According to Wilkerson, donating blood is something positive everyone ought to try.
"It's an easy way to help someone--someone you may never meet," she said. "It's one of those experiences where people can help give back to those who were willing to help them. I know from personal experience."
The Armed Services Blood Program is a tri-service program with more than 20 blood donor centers worldwide, supplying blood and blood products for more than 1.3 million service members, retirees and their families. Because blood has a very limited shelf life, it must be collected regularly to make it available for everything from routine military medical treatment facility operations to contingency situations.
"When you donate blood to the Armed Services Blood Program, you're saving service members' lives," said Capt. James Burke, officer-in-charge of the Fort Leonard Wood Blood Donor Center. "Every hour of every day, someone, somewhere needs blood. The Armed Services Blood Program's job is to get them that blood."
Although those who donate confess there's no better feeling than saving a life, about only 3 percent of eligible donors actually donate. Additionally, Burke said stringent Food and Drug Administration rules governing donor eligibility and repeat military deployments often reduce the donor pool size.
"This is where people like Beverly play a vital role," Burke said. "They come out and donate, which helps us make sure blood is available when needed because you never know when it could be you on the receiving end."
For more information about the Armed Services Blood Program or to schedule an appointment, visit www.militaryblood.dod.mil. To interact directly with staff members, or for more information, visit www.facebook.com/militaryblood.
(Editor's Note: Norman is the ASBP Blood Donor Recruiter for Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.)
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