Innovative summer ads advise: “Jack Into the Blood Grid, Infuse Life” Published July 2, 2015 By Military Health System Communications Office FALLS CHURCH, Va. -- On July 1, 2015, the Armed Services Blood Program (ASBP) will call upon prospective blood donors around the world to "Jack into the Blood Grid and Infuse Life" this summer. By way of edgy print and display ads coupled with a robust social media campaign, ASBP hopes to attract first-time donors across all five military service branches by asking them to plug into the global "blood grid" that connects donors to patients in need of blood, no matter where they are in the world. ASBP's advertising campaign kicks off in conjunction with the start of Health Innovation Month celebrated in July by the U.S. military. According to Navy Capt. Roland Fahie, director of ASBP, the "blood grid" theme of ASBP's ad campaign ties into the innovations and medical advances in blood production and transfusion medicine. "Each and every donor is connected to the larger mission of saving lives, and we want to raise awareness not only about the importance of regularly giving blood, but also about the remarkable scientific innovations in blood production," said Fahie. Blood production includes all the steps taken to process blood from the time it's received by donation. "As these new technologies are researched and when they are fully realized, a single blood donation that saves three lives today could save many more in the future." Borrowing video game jargon, an array of colorful ads with the slogan, "Donors: Jack into the Blood Grid, Infuse Life" are intended to resonate with younger active-duty service members who donate blood, while custom designs cater to each military service branch. Fahie describes ASBP as a tri-service program, which means that all blood collected at its donor centers and mobile drives directly affects service members, no matter their service. "Whether it is a soldier, sailor, airman, Marine or Coast Guardsman, our mission is to make sure they have the blood they need whenever and wherever they need it," said Fahie. As the provider of blood and blood products to the U.S Armed Forces, ASBP has transported more than 150,000 units of blood to the battlefield in the last 12 years. Among the new technologies in blood production, said Fahie, is research dedicated to cryopreserve platelets, a freeze-dried plasma program, and pathogen reduction technology. Today, plasma is separated from whole blood, frozen and kept for a year, said Fahie. With freeze-dried plasma, a corpsman or medic could carry the product and reconstitute it without the need for refrigeration. "The theory is that medical personnel can actually take the freeze-dried plasma and put it in a backpack, because they don't need a freezer, and at the point of injury we can be transfusing the product to someone," said Fahie. Pathogen reduction technology gives blood collectors the ability to be able to collect blood and inactivate viruses in areas where there is some kind of virus or bacteria. Often, said Fahie, there is concern in the military about a unique disease within that population, such as mosquito-borne viral diseases like Dengue Fever and Chikungunya. "You see a lot of different diseases in different countries in, for example, the Pacific where Dengue Fever is prevalent, or Chikungunya, which is common in Latin America and also in the Caribbean," explained Fahie. "Ideally we could collect the blood, inactivate those pathogens in the blood and blood product and be able to use that blood to help people in that country, or help our service members." Learn more about the Armed Services Blood Program, and become a donor.