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May 10, 2008
LIFEMOBILE UNVEILED IN GLENNALLEN

ANCHORAGE, AK – The Blood Bank of Alaska is pleased to announce the unveiling of our new LIFEmobile at the Glennallen Copper River Basin Health & Safety Fair, May 10. The LIFEmobile will visit the Health Fair on the final leg of its 5000 mile journey across North America. The coach will be open to the general public for viewing and questions from 9 a.m. until noon.

For the past five months, L&S Custom Coaches in Hudson Fla., have been customizing the new coach with screening rooms, phlebotomy cots, a cantina area and artwork. Mat-Su Health Foundation and the Safeway-Carrs Employee Giving Campaign have made contributions to help offset the coach’s purchase price of more than $200,000. Blood Bank of Alaska has allotted a budget of $3000 for gas for the journey. The new coach is a 2007 Blue Bird Bus. It is 40 feet long, has a 6 cylinder Cummins 6.7 engine and a 60 gallon fuel tank.

LIFEmobile drivers Don Greening and Dallas Allen left Florida April 30.

Throughout the course of the journey, they covered more than 5000 miles passing through Memphis, Little Rock, Tulsa, Omaha, and Fargo, crossing the border into Canada in Minot, North Dakota.

The coach will provide Blood Bank of Alaska to conduct more blood drives throughout the state.

The coach’s inaugural blood drive will be held May 17 at the Northway Mall Red Robin for Armed Forces Appreciation Day. This summer, the Lifemobile will appear in Seward, Fairbanks and Wasilla, among other locations.


May 6, 2008
A QUILT TO REMEMBER

Troy Palmer has always been generous about giving his time and blood to Blood Bank of Alaska, but April 16, he went a step further. He translated his dedication to saving lives into art.

Troy designed and donated a quilt for display at the Blood Bank of Alaska Laurel location. The quilt consists of six separate blankets from the Blood Bank of Alaska Hero Program.

In the program, donors receive 25 points per donation (with a minimum four donations in a calendar year), which they then redeem for merchandise. Troy’s reason for giving blood is deeply personal.

"My wife’s mother died of breast cancer," Palmer said. "I never even got to meet her."

It took more than a year for Troy to donate enough times to earn six blankets. The quilt itself was another year in the making, requiring three people to complete. The burgundy quilt measures 65 inches by 104 inches. It is double batted and edged in ocean-gray fleece. The Blood Bank of Alaska logo appears on the top panel. On the lower panel are the words, “Donating saves lives.” Troy paid almost $500 out of pocket to have professional quilters help him realize his design. Erin Rolfe of Wasilla helped with the piecing, batting and appliqué. Jo Ann Gruber of Quilted Treasures in Eagle River used both hand quilting and long-arm techniques to complete the project.

Although Troy is no longer able to give blood, he fondly remembers his time as a blood, plasma and platelet donor.

"At first I was a little hesitant about it," Troy said. "But this became my down time."

He used his donation as a time to read, watch movies and enjoy the company of Blood Bank of Alaska staff and donors.

"Some of the people who come in are hilarious," Troy said.

The quilt stands as a testament, not just to Troy’s dedication, but to the Alaskans whose lives he’s saved by giving blood. His wife Emily, a frequent donor, is among the less than 7 percent of the population who can give blood for babies. She said she is proud of her husband for his commitment to saving lives.

The quilt will be displayed in the Blood Bank of Alaska Laurel location.

May 3, 2008

BLOOD BROTHER
By MATT TUNSETH, Frontiersman

WASILLA — Ed Lamm is a bloody good man.

Lamm, a 64-year-old retired civil service mechanic from Wasilla, stopped by the Wasilla branch of the Alaska Blood Bank Thursday morning to make his 300th life-giving donation. Over the past decade, Lamm has given 89 gallons of blood, making him the most prolific donor in the state.

Blood Bank manager Jeremy Ferreira said Lamm exemplifies the type of individual who’s the lifeblood of the organization.

"What keeps us going is our consistent donors," Ferreira said as technicians prepared to hook Lamm to a high-tech Trima machine, which uses centrifuges to separate blood products from whole blood.
Making Lamm’s donations more notable is the fact that, for the past eight years, he’s given blood platelets, which aid clotting and stop bleeding in the body. Platelets are especially valuable because, unlike other blood products, they can only be stored for a very short time.

"The hard thing with platelets is they only have a five-day shelf life," Blood Bank CEO Jack Williams said.

Blood Bank technician Cynthia Watts said that because the process of separating platelets from whole blood is much more involved, Lamm’s donations take about an hour each. She said a typical whole blood donation only takes about 15 minutes.

Lamm began donating blood in the early 1970s when he was working at Elmendorf Air Force Base and, as “just something to do,” he tagged along with a friend who was going to give blood.

And he was hooked.

"One thing the Blood Bank will do, once they’ve got their hook in you, they’ll call you up," Lamm said as Watts sterilized his right arm and prepared to insert the needle. "Somewhere along the line, instead of waiting for a phone call I decided to just start going in."

That was about 10 years ago, and since then Lamm has been returning to the Blood Bank about once every two weeks, showing up early in the morning, sitting down in a chair and waiting as the life-giving platelets are slowly extracted from his blood. He started in Anchorage, where he moved in 1964 while serving in the Air Force, then switched to Wasilla when he moved to the Valley a year and a half ago.

For donating 89 gallons, Lamm was presented with a framed certificate recognizing his achievement. The certificate was handed to him by both Williams, the CEO, and Watts, who for the past year and a half has been Lamm’s primary phlebotomist (blood-taker), as well as his main conversation partner.

"I’ve gotten to know him pretty good," Watts said.

At first, Watts said Lamm didn’t say much during his appointments, which made her a bit nervous.

"I was always afraid I was gonna miss [Lamm’s vein]," she said.

After a few sessions, though, she said Lamm’s good nature set her at ease.

"I’m not scared of him anymore," she said with a laugh.

Besides, Lamm said, the needle doesn’t really hurt that much anyway.

"No more than a mosquito bite," he said.

While Lamm never set out to set any records for blood donation, he said Thursday’s milestone is something he’ll cherish.

"I think it’s something to be proud of," he said.

Lamm said most of his friends probably don’t even know about his gift for giving.

"I don’t promote it like I probably should," he said.

Watts said that’s fine with the Blood Bank staff. They’re just happy to have such a willing and dependable donor.

"He leads by example," he said.

Lamm admitted his motives aren’t entirely selfless. He said his wife won’t buy him chocolate milk at home, and part of the reason he keeps coming back to the Wasilla center is the free goodies he gets while he waits.

Center manager Ferreira said the Blood Bank is always looking for new donors to step up like Lamm has. He pointed to a tote board in the center’s office showing that for at least two types of blood (types O-negative and A-negative), the state is down to “condition red,” which means there’s only a one-day supply available. Even with supplies of more common blood types stable, he said one big accident or emergency can rapidly draw down supplies.

"One major accident and some of these blood types my slip into yellow or red," he said.

Ferreira said giving blood is safe, relatively painless and can take as little as a half hour out of someone’s day. Anyone in good health between the ages of 16 and 74 is eligible to donate, though he did say that 16- and 17-year-olds must have a parent’s permission.

"And we’ve got tons of juice and cookies," Ferreira added.

Some of the state’s best donors, Blood Bank Public Relations Manager Jessica Golden reports, are teens.

"Last year, 16 percent of donations came from students," Golden said.

That includes the blood-giving-happy students at the Valley’s Houston High, who last year managed to beat out all other high schools in the state during a year-long blood drive challenge.

"They’ve just got some really energetic kids out there," Jack Williams said.

As for Lamm, he said he has no plans to stop giving blood any time soon. At age 64, he’s still got another decade of giving ahead of him, and he intends to continue coming back as long as the Blood Bank will let him.

"I don’t see any reason not to," he said.

To become a blood donor, people may stop by the Blood Bank of Alaska’s Mat-Su Center, which is located in Suite B-9 of the Lakeview Professional Building at 851 E. Westpoint Drive in Wasilla. Hours of operation are Monday through Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Cynthia Watts said drop-ins are welcome, although she said it’s not a bad idea to make an appointment by calling 376-1195 to avoid having to wait when the center is busy.

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@frontiersman.com


May 2, 2008
Wasilla blood donor cracks state record
89 GALLONS: Ed Lamm says donating is a way to give back to community.

By ZAZ HOLLANDER, Anchorage Daily News
zhollander@adn.com

WASILLA -- Ed Lamm entered the record books in silence, his head momentarily turned away from the sharp metal point entering his right arm.

See, that's the thing.

The guy with more blood donations than any other Alaskan doesn't really care for needles.

Just after 8:15 a.m. Thursday, Lamm made his 300th blood platelet donation to the Blood Bank of Alaska, far and away the highest number of lifetime donations in the state.

That's about 89 gallons of blood, for anybody keeping track.

"Boy, I sure hope this doesn't hurt," technician Cynthia Watts half-joked as she slid the needle in. A few reporters and a few more Blood Bank officials looked on.

No comment.

Watts bent down and asked Lamm quietly, just to make sure.

"No, it doesn't hurt," he said, smiling.

The two see each other pretty often.

Lamm visits the Mat-Su branch of the blood bank every two weeks.

"You need to give back to the community," he explained, from the chair. "It's one way you can do that. Doesn't cost anything."

Lamm looked much younger than his 64 years, a tall, trim fellow wearing a clean blue oxford shirt, worn black jeans, well-used Skechers trail shoes and a new haircut for Thursday's big event.

He retired about 10 years ago as a civil aircraft maintenance superintendent at Elmendorf Air Force Base and moved from Anchorage to what he jokingly called the "family compound" off Fairview Loop Road in December 2006.

Lamm began donating whole blood in the early 1970s after a coworker headed to the blood bank asked him to come along. He switched to platelet donations eight years ago after seeing some people sitting in chairs, giving blood and watching movies.

Platelets are cells in blood that cause clotting. They're given to cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy -- which depletes platelets -- or patients with clotting disorders, said officials of the Blood Bank of Alaska.

Thursday morning, Watts hooked Lamm up to a machine fitted with tubes leading in and out of a centrifuge. In a process called apheresis, the centrifuge spins the blood to separate out blood cells, platelets and plasma. Lamm's platelets were to be stored away -- and constantly jiggled to make sure they don't start to clot -- but the blood cells and plasma were pumped back into his veins.

Fewer people donate platelets because it takes longer than whole-blood donations, Williams said.

Someone can donate platelets 24 times a year; whole blood donors only six times a year.

So someone who donates platelets can really rack up the donations if they're serious about it.

The donor with the next highest record is Bob Traut, with 240 visits. Ken Peaveyhouse got to 246 before he died last year, said Jeremy Ferreira, the Mat-Su blood bank manager.

Plenty of donors don't love needles. Williams himself confesses to being "somewhat needle-phobic."

"Our donors, they just kind of get over the fact," Ferreira said. "They may be afraid of needles, but what they're doing helps a lot more than they are afraid of needles."

In honor of his 300th donation, the Mat-Su branch threw Lamm a party and gave him a framed certificate. He'll also be honored at a Blood Bank of Alaska event in June.

What now?

"I think it probably would be 100 gallons," he said. "Because it seems like that's the next thing on the horizon."

Find Zaz Hollander online at adn.com/contact/zhollander or call 352-6711


May 1, 2008
Give 4 times this year & become a HERO donor

Can you make a commitment to give blood at least 4 times this year? Four times in 2008 is all it takes to become a member of the 2009 HERO Program! It's easy to do and you'll become a member of an exclusive club in which you'll be eligible for bi-weekly drawings, prizes, and receive HERO points to redeem for exclusive HERO merchandise!

Now is a great time to start if you haven't already and all you will need is a minimum of 4 donations to be eligible for the 2009 HERO program. Here's how:
• Donate Whole Blood 4 times (56 days in between donations)
• Become an ALYX donor and give double reds 2 times (112 days in between donations)
• Become a TRIMA donor and give platelets 4 times (as often as 1 time per week up to 24 times per year)

Don't be left out - call today to make your next LIFEsaving appointment or stop by and visit any Blood Bank of Alaska center or mobile blood drive in your neighborhood!


Take the HERO Snapshot Challenge - Earn 25 Extra HERO Points!
The rules are simple and open to all HERO blood donors! Be creative with your ideas and have fun! Photos will be put on display at your local community blood center as well posted on the Blood Bank of Alaska website! Find out more…



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