NoBlood

Jan B. Wade · #1 (**permalink**) 11-19-2003, 08:24 AM

November 13, 2003
Serving in Iraq Halts Sailors, Marines From Donating Blood
by Bureau of Medicine and Surgery Public Affairs

WASHINGTON -- Sailors and Marines who served in Iraq will not be able to give blood for one year after leaving that country. The restriction was put in place by the Armed Services Blood Program (ASBP) to safeguard the military's blood supply after several service members in Iraq were diagnosed with leishmaniasis.

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease spread by the bite of infected sand flies. ASBP manages the blood program for the Department of Defense and provides blood products to support worldwide military operations. The restriction applies to the entire country of Iraq and to all who travel there.

"There has always been country and travel restrictions that ban certain groups of people from giving blood. Different countries have different risks for diseases. Most people are familiar with the Food and Drug Administration's restrictions for people who travel to the U.K. and were potentially exposed to Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, also known as Mad Cow disease. There are similar restrictions for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-affected areas and malaria-affected areas. The leishmaniasis ban is for a specific geographic area and affects all military personnel who have traveled to Iraq," said CDR Michael Libby, director of the Navy Blood Program.

"The impact on Naval Medicine's blood supply is difficult to project at this time. We do know that 20 percent of the military donate blood so the loss of donors could be significant," added Libby.

"The impact is nothing we can't overcome," he added. "We have donor centers located near recruit training centers and military schools that allow us to call on donors who are not part of the population at risk and who haven't traveled abroad yet."

Naval Medicine's blood donation sites which are part of the AFBP are the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Md.; Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune, N.C.; Naval Hospital Great Lakes, Ill.; Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth, Va.; Naval Medical Center San Diego, Calif., and the U.S. Naval Hospital, Okinawa, Japan.

"This new restriction is intended to guarantee that the military's blood products are safe. The restriction also protect the health of the donors and the patients who receive life-saving transfusion," said Libby. "This is a time for new donors to volunteer and for current donors to consider donating more often. Their efforts will go a long way to counter any potential shortages."