Donation History Follows Donor around the Country

06/04/2012
By Jerrick Alexander, ASBP Blood Donor Recruiter, Pentagon Blood Donor Center

Lt. Col. Gregory Bonafede completes his 24th whole blood donation—that’s three gallons—to the Armed Services Blood Program at the Pentagon Blood Donor Center.

Lt. Col. Gregory Bonafede was just a few donations shy of hitting a milestone donation—three gallons—when he received word that he would be transferred from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, to the Pentagon. He was certain that he would continue donating to the Armed Services Blood Program at his new location, but after having been a regular donor at the Wright-Patterson Blood Donor Center for so long, he was worried that his donating record wouldn’t follow him. Luckily, Bonafede scheduled his donations using the online registration system, www.militarydonor.com, so when he moved on, so did his donation history.

By scheduling his appointments online, the Armed Services Blood Program blood donor centers were able to track his donation as he traveled to different areas of the country. He was also able to keep up-to-date on all the upcoming blood drives in his area.

Bonafede has made supporting the Armed Services Blood Program his personal mission. He continues to donate regularly today because he knows his donation directly supports ill or injured service members worldwide. Although, Bonafede has not been deployed to a combat area, he felt it was his duty to help provide blood to the troops in harm’s way. His dad served in the Air Force and was an avid donor himself, so Bonafede wanted to continue the family tradition.

Although he will be moving on again soon, Bonafede is hopeful that he will be stationed near one of the other Armed Services Blood Program blood donor centers. “With my donation history in the [online registration system], I can continue filling the bag when donating with the Armed Services Blood Program,” he said.

To learn more about the Armed Services Blood Program or to schedule an appointment, please visit us online: www.militaryblood.dod.mil. To interact directly with some of our staff, see more photos or to get the latest news, visit us here: www.facebook.com/militaryblood, www.flickr.com/militaryblood and www.twitter.com/militaryblood.