The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-12-11
Army Sponsors Huge
 Blood-G Grouping Plan
More Than l,OOO,OOO Men Typed for "Future Refer.
 ence"; Program Proves Beneficial in Emergency

A gigantic blood.grouping pro- gram which will result in the typ- ing of the blood of each of the more than million men in the army of the United States is fast nearing completion under the su- pervislon of the ArmyS Medical Department, Corporal Harry Arm- strong, IT, local army recrulter, re. ported today.
 Started Q few months ago at the behest of Major General James c. Magee, the Surgeon General, the huge task has employed the efforts of medical officers and enlisted technicians in army hospitals throughout the United States and It's possessions and has been de- seribed by at least one doctor as the largest mass typing in the world, to my knowledge" Corporal Armstrong said.
 As c result Of the work, every enlisted man and officer In the army will know to which of the four major type groups his blood NNATHHStANo ehd vAlG M0dASNA du~ partment will have record of the information which will enable it to contact donors for emergency transfuSlons ct c moments noe tee.
 "For example," Corporal Arm. strong explained, "a soldier from ono Of the big camps was injured RAaApIiu iY a1 aUtassa at1tIa aaaldatat about 60 miles from his home post, He was taken to q nearby hos. pital which informed his parents that transfuSion was needed at once. His parents called his post, where the blood-typlng program was virtually finished, Less than an hour later Rf officer with the same type of blood as that of the sol- dier stepped from an army plane near the hospital, prepared to act as donor. Behind him, 0 sergeant and q private sped over tho high way ln on automobile, ready to give their blood, too"
 Corporal Armstrong said that tho af1ny'S typing program k interest- Ing the medical profession Ut largo aS 1t suggests the value of univer. sal blood.typing - the typing of all persons, perhaps as c part of their birth records.
 Its value to the army Is expect. cd to prove incalculable, especial. ly since the transfusion of blood from ono person to another has be- come R therapeutic procedure which in the word of one physician, is "RS common aS the use of medl- eineS." TrAnsfuSed blood Is now used in the treatment Of some ais- eases aS well As for emergency re- plenishmen of blood lost by injury.
 Corporal Armstrong proclaimed the program aS another step In the Army Medical departments in. creaSlngly successful efforts to fe- duce peace and wartime casualties through application of modern methods in its work in the army. Playing an important part in the huge task were the enlisted spe- ciaiists of the Medical department, intensiyely trained for the work, he said.
 At each army post, medical offl- cers under the direction of post surgeons painstakingly trained teams of eight enlisted men to be- come specialists in swift, accurate typing of large groups of men. Oth- CT enlisted personnel received ifl- struction for the vast amount of paper work" required to keep the records straight.
 After the instruction period the teams were so prepared that each of their members could perform any of the several operations rec quired with efficiency and accu- racy, from taking the blood saIn- ples to determining types. As Q re- suit, large groups of men have been typed as swiftly as one per minute.
 Corporal Armstrong added that