Show SERVICE IN IH PEACE AND WAR red cross national blood pro program gram called just as important now mow in defense security fa factor dor in wartime As it 11 was as a survival by general george C marshall of americans are fa M MILLIONS millar with th the a nationwide nation wide blood donor servi service c e ot of the american red cross during the war because most of 0 them made a personal contribution ot of their own blood they knew that their donations saved the lives live ot of many soldiers and sailors few however are arc aware that thai wartime service has been revived and expanded by the red cross now it is called the national blood program it Is probably just as important i today tor for our defense and security Z as it was during the war when it was a major factor in the survia MARSHALL al of 0 more than 97 per cent of 0 all wounded american servicemen since taking up my new responsibilities bili ties with red cross in october I 1 have visited a large number of cities from coast to coast conferring with red lied cross leaders I 1 found in most regions the blood program of the red cross aroused greater interest and made a greater appeal to the red cross workers than any 0 ther other activity at this time they felt that they were mak lag ing a very important contribution to the health of the people all and di were establishing the organized orall arall framework to meet any great disaster instantly and effectively in this phase of relief A national nat lonal military emergency might possibly require more blood in one week than all our requirements during one year of the late war in a great emergency emerge acy volunteer donors would come forward in the desired numbers but without the framework of the system now being progressively established the contributions of 0 these volunteers 1 J f az 5 to help speed his recovery a small patient Is riven given a transfusion with blood made available through the natio national blood program could not be processed and made immediately available to save the lives of the injured there Is only one known source from which this blood can be obtained and that tha t Is from the veins of living healthy people I 1 found that there were 30 regional I 1 centers center of the national blood a program in operation aton I 1 blood was being made available through these centers to 1550 hospitals located in areas embracing more than 40 million people mobile units had visited some 1100 smaller communities muni ties and about red cross ch chapters apters were participating in the work of these regional centers all this had been accomplished in less than two years time in times of pence peace vast quantities of blood are needed for people undergoing major surgery for accident victims for for people suffer ing frig from anemia or other blood diseases research has already uncovered tile the fact that one pint of blood chich formerly helped only one person can now be broken down into fractions which may provide treatment for a dozen or more cases while the whole country Is not lot yet covered by the network of red cross blood centers every community now receives benefits from the program through the blood fractions or derivatives which it provides I 1 have learned that one of these fractions actions tr has been bean distributed to every state of the union to prevent or modify measles I 1 am told that it lessens the dangers of complications which sometimes follow measles such as pneumonia some types of sleeping sickness middle ear infection and heart impairment last year vials of this serum were supplied by red cross to the nations physicians A immune serum globulin a blood derivative used to modify or prevent measles Is being used here on a two year old girl following her exposure to the disease more mor than two million vials of serum have been distributed since ISM 1944 by lied cross to physicians throughout the nation another blood derivative Is s said aid to be invaluable in treatment of shock burns bums and certain kidney and liver ailments and there still are others now in use or being clinically tested for future availability most oi of this fractionation to date has been done with surplus war plasma returned to the red cross by the army and navy in one case a ship that had been sunk in manila bay was raised and the tha plasma aboard was found to be in satisfactory condition for this fraction aaion but today this supply Is about exhausted therefore the national blood program 1 is being stepped up to meet this special need it is estimated that a donation of one pint a of if blood from one out of every 25 amer american lean adults will ill be required each year to meet the nations normal demands for whole blood and blood fractions people have asked me why the red cross does not require pint tor for pint replacement by the recipients friends or family to demand replacement in kind rather than replenishment or to make any charge whatever lor for blood which has been donated voluntarily would be a departure from the tha basic red cross principle of helping people solely on the basis of need some people ask why the program must operate on a nation wide basis the answer la is simple A major disaster would require the instant shipment of largo large quantities of blood from one section of 4 e before leaving rochester ochester It N Y to set up blood center in hornell the driver of a bloodmobile confers on the route to be taken with a red cross nurse and volunteer motor service servi ce driver the country to another only a na dional hookup to use a radio term would facilitate this service to the injured A frequent question is 3 whether this program is not a forni form of so ciali zed medicine socialized medi cine implies compulsion it also jm plies governmental control there is neither in the red cross program iain which Is based on an entirely vol gunteer procedure and Is not sub eject under the law to government control up to the present time the major control and financing Is centered at american red cross national head quarters but this procedure has only been followed as necessary to get the program under way A gradual decentralization Is now being initiated which will transfer the major burden of direction and financing to local chapters |