AMERICAN RED CROSS BLOOD DONATIONS FROM VETERANS INCREASE

Janice Zajchowski, an Oracle Account Executive, is committed to Analytical software. She selected analytics as her focus due to the ability to provide hard ROIs to her customers. Janice Zajchowski has been highly successful in her field. She has earned several awards, Top Analytics Account Executive in North America in 2011. Janice Zajchowski also actively participates in various volunteer efforts. One of the organizations she holds highly is the American Red Cross.

The American Red Cross is very well known worldwide. The American Red Cross was established in 1881 out of NY. The American Red Cross provides over 30% of blood donations in the US. Hospitals and community blood centers offer close to 70% of all donations. 

The American Red Cross is committed to veterans, military personnel, and their families for the service they provide to our country. Their commitment dates back to the Spanish-American War, which was over 135 years ago. The American Red Cross has served over 1 million military families since 2011. The American Red Cross's serves are available 24X7. They have been provided services at their homes, military bases, and military hospitals in over 35 installations worldwide. The benefits are both provided when they are in the US and during deployment. There is also a focus on continuing these services as they transition to veterans.  

In June 2020, the US Food and Drug Administration updated its blood donation policy for active military, veterans, and their families. Previously the military members were not allowed to donate blood. The reason was that these military member spent time in countries where 'mad cow disease' or also known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD). The FDA has simplified its standards, realizing that the low risk of transmission and the regions deployed as low risk. Now millions of military members can donate blood.

Many of our military members were eager and willing to give blood, but they were unable to donate due to serving our country. They felt donating was a selfless gesture that could have a high impact on humanity. Numerous military members had blood donating engrained in their upbrings from prior generations. To them, donating is an emotionally positive experience. As a result, many military members felt like they want to make up for the lost time. Some are even donating close to double of their prior commitments. As a result, they feel that they are saving lives.  

There are still some restrictions in place based on location and duration of time spent in certain countries. For example, if a military member was stationed in the UK between 1980 and 1996, they could not donate. 

Please download the Red Cross Blood Donor App for more information on giving blood; visit RedCrossBlood.org or call 1-800-RED-CROSS. If you were previously unable to donate blood due to these restrictions and are healthy, please contact the Donor Support Center at 1-866-236-3276 to update your donor profile.   

These policy changes serve as an essential step toward ensuring a safe and sufficient blood supply is readily available for patients in need both in the US and worldwide.