Blood donors' sense of duty runs deep

Grace Beahm
The Post and Courier

Daniel Franzen (left) and Randall Stone (right) both active duty Marines who are earning their bachelors at the Citadel give blood during a school-wide blood drive Tuesday.

Army Sgt. John Stewart was three days from completing his first combat tour in Iraq when a wounded Marine entered the hospital. The 19-year-old, fresh out of boot camp, was admitted after a bomb tore off his legs and arm.

The hospital, which kept about 60 pints of blood on hand, was forced to call a "mercy drive" after they used up the entire blood supply.

"He just kept bleeding," Stewart recalled. "We were literally taking the blood out of one guy and putting it into another."

Ultimately, the hospital used 143 pints of blood on the wounded Marine, provided largely by the men and women who showed up to donate.

"We were doing whatever we could to keep him alive. We had lines half a mile long, but when it's bad, we have to get blood," Stewart said. "Sometimes we have to fight guys back because they just donated yesterday. But they want to help."

Stewart recounted his experience during a blood drive Tuesday at The Citadel. The Armed Services Blood Program and the American Red Cross co-sponsored the event with hopes of collecting 500 pints of blood. Half of the blood collected will be used locally and the other half will be used in Iraq, Afghanistan and other overseas locations.

"The blood will go to the military hospitals — Army, Navy, Marines, it doesn't matter. It'll be used to take care of our troops, but also the local community," said Army Lt. Col. Kevin Belanger, the Chief of Blood Services for the program. "We don't turn anyone away. If an injured Iraqi comes in, we help them, too."

And he is excited about the turnout at The Citadel. "We've been meeting our mission, but starting in September it starts to slow down," Belanger said. "But the support at The Citadel is tremendous."

The blood drive, which was open to the public, was largely supported by Citadel cadets. Blood drives organized by the Armed Services Blood Program are usually held on military bases, but the program has been expanding to military academies where the majority of cadets have firsthand knowledge of the war or will in the future.

Such is the case for sophomore cadet Robert Ramos from Brooklyn, N.Y. Although Ramos isn't fond of needles, he still wanted to help. Tuesday's drive marked the third time Ramos has donated blood, but he still grimaced as he waited for the needle to be inserted.

"I hate needles," he sighed. "But even if I can't go over there and fight, this is something I can do."

South Carolina imports 25 percent of its blood supply because not enough is collected locally, so turnout was key, said Patrick Lamontagne who supervises blood drives with the Red Cross.

The cadets are one of the largest sponsor groups in Charleston. "They know the need. They see the importance," Lamontagne said. "

Reach Aubrey Straub at astraub@postandcourier.com.