Support our troops -- Give blood Published Oct. 8, 2009 By Womack Army Medical Center Public Affairs FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- Seymour Johnson is sponsoring a blood drive to support the military. The Fort Bragg Blood Donor Center collects blood at Seymour Johnson every nine weeks. The next drives are scheduled for Oct. 26 and Dec. 22 at the Officers Club from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fort Bragg Blood Donor center is a part of the Armed Services Blood Program which is the military's blood source. The ASBP collects blood from the military community. Those who donate blood to the ASBP directly support the military medical treatment facilities at home and troops deployed worldwide. "We need the support of everyone at Seymour Johnson," said Linda Ellerbe, a public affairs specialist for ASBP. "The Armed Services Blood Program provides quality blood products for all active-duty personnel and their families through a joint operation among all branches of the military. There are many components working together to collect, process and store, distribute and transfuse blood worldwide in a very short amount of time. " Blood is needed every day. A whole blood unit has a shelf life of 42 days, therefore the need for blood is continuous. It is only through volunteers that we are able to meet the needs of our military treatment facilities and our military members who are deployed. "If we do not collect enough blood from within the military community, we have to purchase it from civilian agencies. The blood is collected by the military for the military," said Ms. Ellerbe. By giving blood to the ASBP, you ensure life-saving blood products are available whenever and wherever there are military community members in need. Please take time to support our military by donating blood. For more information, contact the Fort Bragg Blood Donor Center at (910) 396-9925. Visit the ASBP Web site for more information at www.militaryblood.dod.mil.