thedrifter
07-23-07, 05:54 AM
Commentary
Ann Fisher commentary: Excluding donors is bad policy for military
Monday, July 23, 2007 4:08 AM
By Ann Fisher
"Can I direct my blood donation to the military?"
That's a FAQ, frequently asked question, on the American Red Cross Web site. Here's the answer:
"While you can't direct your donation to be specifically routed to military personnel, you can be sure that it will be sent to the areas of most critical need."
That means "no."
What the Red Cross doesn't say is that you can direct donations to immediate family members who aren't in the military or to geographic hot spots such as the Gulf region after Hurricane Katrina hit.
But you can't direct it to immediate family in the military or to hot spots in Iraq. You can't, even during a war in which at least 26,550 soldiers and Marines have been wounded.
You can't, even when the many restrictions have left just 43 percent of military personnel and their families eligible to give blood through the Military Services Blood Program.
You can't, even though we are urged to "Support Our Troops."
Why can't you?
That's a little more complicated, as Dispatch reporter Jodi Andes explained yesterday.
Since the Cold War era, the military and the American Red Cross have operated blood drives separately, but hardly equally.
The Red Cross advertises its blood drives. The military does not.
And the military avoids civilian blood, making civilian groups jump through hoops to accept donations, forcing them to seek special permission.
A May blood drive at the Newman Center, the Roman Catholic mission at Ohio State University, collected 467 units in 12 hours for military personnel, a few dozen pints more than what the U.S. military uses in a day worldwide.
But the Newman Center drive is believed to be the first effort in a civilian building to benefit the military since the Armed Services Blood Program was created more than 55 years ago.
Neither the military nor the Red Cross appears troubled by that.
The civilian-donor and publicity bans work like a no-compete clause that favors the Red Cross. The Red Cross, meanwhile, constantly reports blood shortages, hoping to inspire potential givers.
There's always a blood shortage somewhere because all blood has a shelf life, but please give as often as possible.
The folks at the Department of Defense aren't inclined to report shortages, and they aren't spending their own money when shortages force them to buy blood from the Red Cross.
At the time of the Newman Center drive, a local Red Cross spokesman told T he Dispatch that, because people must wait 56 days between donations, a military drive could cut into the local supply.
By June, when the civilian Marine Corps Family Support Community organized another civilian blood drive for the troops, the same Red Cross spokesman had changed his tune, saying "that's certainly not a problem for us."
I certainly hope not. The Red Cross taps just 5 percent of eligible Americans for its civilian blood drives.
There's still plenty to go around, and donors should have a say in where it goes.
Ann Fisher is a Dispatch Metro columnist. She can be reached at 614-461-8759 or by e-mail.
afisher@dispatch.com
Ellie
Ann Fisher commentary: Excluding donors is bad policy for military
Monday, July 23, 2007 4:08 AM
By Ann Fisher
"Can I direct my blood donation to the military?"
That's a FAQ, frequently asked question, on the American Red Cross Web site. Here's the answer:
"While you can't direct your donation to be specifically routed to military personnel, you can be sure that it will be sent to the areas of most critical need."
That means "no."
What the Red Cross doesn't say is that you can direct donations to immediate family members who aren't in the military or to geographic hot spots such as the Gulf region after Hurricane Katrina hit.
But you can't direct it to immediate family in the military or to hot spots in Iraq. You can't, even during a war in which at least 26,550 soldiers and Marines have been wounded.
You can't, even when the many restrictions have left just 43 percent of military personnel and their families eligible to give blood through the Military Services Blood Program.
You can't, even though we are urged to "Support Our Troops."
Why can't you?
That's a little more complicated, as Dispatch reporter Jodi Andes explained yesterday.
Since the Cold War era, the military and the American Red Cross have operated blood drives separately, but hardly equally.
The Red Cross advertises its blood drives. The military does not.
And the military avoids civilian blood, making civilian groups jump through hoops to accept donations, forcing them to seek special permission.
A May blood drive at the Newman Center, the Roman Catholic mission at Ohio State University, collected 467 units in 12 hours for military personnel, a few dozen pints more than what the U.S. military uses in a day worldwide.
But the Newman Center drive is believed to be the first effort in a civilian building to benefit the military since the Armed Services Blood Program was created more than 55 years ago.
Neither the military nor the Red Cross appears troubled by that.
The civilian-donor and publicity bans work like a no-compete clause that favors the Red Cross. The Red Cross, meanwhile, constantly reports blood shortages, hoping to inspire potential givers.
There's always a blood shortage somewhere because all blood has a shelf life, but please give as often as possible.
The folks at the Department of Defense aren't inclined to report shortages, and they aren't spending their own money when shortages force them to buy blood from the Red Cross.
At the time of the Newman Center drive, a local Red Cross spokesman told T he Dispatch that, because people must wait 56 days between donations, a military drive could cut into the local supply.
By June, when the civilian Marine Corps Family Support Community organized another civilian blood drive for the troops, the same Red Cross spokesman had changed his tune, saying "that's certainly not a problem for us."
I certainly hope not. The Red Cross taps just 5 percent of eligible Americans for its civilian blood drives.
There's still plenty to go around, and donors should have a say in where it goes.
Ann Fisher is a Dispatch Metro columnist. She can be reached at 614-461-8759 or by e-mail.
afisher@dispatch.com
Ellie