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Service members give lifesaving platelets

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Alexandria Mosness
  • U.S. Air Forces Central Public Affairs
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan --  Normal chatter of everyday life in Afghanistan permeates the small room. Listening in, one would think it was a normal donation site, but there's nothing normal about this.

Deployed warriors from units across Kandahar Airfield gather to donate platelets for trauma patients throughout the Afghanistan area of responsibility.

Known as the apheresis section in the hospital, the five-man team here gathers platelets every day of the week to keep not only Kandahar Role 3 hospital supplied with the lifesaving liquid, but also 14 Forward Operating Bases throughout the country.

During donation, whole blood is drawn from the donor by a machine where it is separated into its components in a process called apheresis. When collecting platelets, the apheresis machine will collect the platelets and some plasma and return the red cells and most of the plasma back to the donor.

The sounds of beeping can be heard and the strong smell of alcohol can be smelled throughout the apheresis room, which can sit up to four donors at a time. As vials of blood and platelets, which is a clear yellowish color, are collected, there is playful banter between the technicians and the donors.

"We are collecting platelets used in trauma," said Senior Airman Shannon Ford, who is deployed from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. "Platelets are the clotting engineers in a person's body. When the body wants to stop the bleeding, the body will activate platelets which clot the area to stop bleeding. Short of cauterizing the area, it is the fastest way."

"We provide approximately 60 units of platelets each week to be used throughout the area of responsibility," she added.

Anyone could potentially donate their platelets, but it does take time to get approved to be a donor.

When patients come in, they must be prescreened. They will be asked questions just like when they donate whole blood back in the States and vials of blood will be taken. The blood is then sent to a lab back in the States where tests are performed to make sure the donor is eligible to donate. The prescreening process takes about 3 weeks to get the results and once the donor is approved they can come in and donate.

Platelets are only viable for seven days, so getting them from the States is not an option, Ford explained.

"It is critically important we have our volunteer donors that give us the ability to collect right on site," she added. "They are not compensated in any way except they get to know how many lives they have saved with their platelet donation."

There are different reasons for each donor to give their platelets, but for most, it is the act of saving a life. For Navy Lt. Allison Moon, she wanted to donate one last time before she redeployed.

"I'm stuck on KAF, where the chance of me getting shot or injured is small," she said. "There are service members who are outside the wire every day. It makes me feel good to donate my platelets. This is my fourth time donating, and I would recommend it to everyone."

While it was the last for Moon, it was the first time of donating platelets for Air Force Capt. David Hidalgo who is the 361st ERS executive officer.

"I wanted to help aid the wounded patients who might need the platelets," he said. "This is the first time I have donated, and I think it is important because if I have something to give that other people need, then why not?"

Hidalgo plans on continuing to donate his platelets throughout his deployment.

Working in the apheresis section for about three months, Ford has a story of how platelets helped out in a trauma that has stuck with her.

"The most notable is when a patient had a gunshot to the head," she remembered. "They obviously could not apply a tourniquet. The doctors transfused more than five units of platelets, which is a high amount. Generally, a patient will only require one unit."

Working in the apheresis section, Ford said she has gained an infinite amount of knowledge of the life and death struggle the service members are facing throughout Afghanistan.

"When trauma patients come in, you grasp the severity of the situation by calculating how much blood and platelets the patient needs," she explained.

This is why donating is so important, Ford said.

"The gift is all tallied in the patient's vein, and possibly saved his life," she said.