Detroit evening times., 1945-05-05
FAIR
ENOUGH
By Westbrook
PegIer

GAN FRANCISCO. May 4Al
~ This will be a straight. un-
disguised publicity plug for the
Red Cross, donor service, par
ticularly the San Francisco
center which has suffered a
partial eclipse in public atten-
tion since the statesmen, jour-
.nalists and the movie and radio.
talent descended on the city for
those deliberations which we
are solemnly conjured not to call
peace conference.
There is some apprehension
that for lack of repetitious men
tion in print the local collec-
tions may decline and, on that
theory, another little piece pub
lished nationally, might help the
cause wherever this work goes
on.
ONE of the volunteer workers
" at the San Francisco center
is the wife of an officer of the
regular army who was captured
with Gen. Wainwright in the
Philippines and sent first 10
Formosa and then to Siberia
and the mother of boy who
was killed in Germany only q
short time ago.
Another worker. a young
woman, is the wife of a blue
jacket and the daughter of an
American soldier who died OF
wounds in Trance in the last
war because. as she said. they
didn't have plasma then"
There are 900 volunteer
women serving from one TO five
days a week in San Francisco.
most of whom themselves are
donors and every day two navy
transport planes leave here each
carrying from 900 to 1,200 pints
7 -ef whole blood.
San Francisco is a collection
and forwarding center for thu
area extending from Portlarl
10 San Diego but some other
populous places in the West ara
excluded from the service be-
cause OF a lack of accessible
laboratories and difficulties in
shipment.
DLASMA is still being made
L because il is the most con-
venient form for TRANSMISSION
under emergency conditions in
the field and goes ashore with
the munitions and food.
At the latest reckoning the
American people had given
about II million pints, most OF
which was reduced TO plasma.
but the collection of whole
blood, which appears to be
more effective when il can he
administered. thus far is only
about 100000 pintS
However. these collections be-
gan only last November. And
while II is true that one pint
may save life momentarily in
a crisis. a donor has no right
10 feel that he has actually
given enough TO pull wounded
man through. even provided all
else goes well. until he or she
has given AT least five pints. the
average required by each pa
tlent who needs TRANSMISSION at
all. Some patients have re-
ceived as much as 20 pints.
4 NAVY medical officer. who
"a was in the Pacific for %
months came 10 the San Fran
cisco center 10 inspect the plant
and said that the transfusions
actually had saved thousands OF
lives 10 his certain knowledge.
England. too. has an efficient
blood donor service but Col.
Charles c. Quigley. a retired Of
ficer who is the director of the
san Francisco center, believ
that no other nation. not eve
Germany. with her slaves avail
able by the million for compul-
sorry donations. has had 4
method and system comparable
10 ours in abundance. efficiency
and promptness
E1FTY per cent Of the donors
L in San Fra SEQ are
women, p per cent are service
men. including parties of conva-
lescent wounded. who come in
TO pay back" and 25 per cent
are civilian men. OF the women,
many are war workers who
give up their lunch hours to
sit IN line awaiting their turns.
others are housewives. and most
have AT least one son or hus-
band away at the war.
The civilian men of the popu-
lation may be presumed to have
sons and brothers at the front,
too, and Col. Quigley's only
explanation Of their poor show
ing by comparison with that Of
the women is that they are
afraid of the needle.
However. one crippled veteran
Of the first war who comes
in car and must be carried
into the center, has given II
pintS and there are about 10
blind men who are regular con-
tributors. some arriving with
their seeing-eye dogs.
I ATELY custom Of attach
i ing TO each pint of whole
blood the name and address Of
the donor has been discontinued
for a number of reasons. mainly
TO relieve the navy corpsmen
and army medics of the extra
l. 4 4 =. IL