Keesler medics take aphresis services to Southwest Asia

  • Published
  • By Steve Pivnick
  • 81st Medical Group Public Affairs
Apheresis service is also available in Southwest Asia. 

Capt. Robert Curtis, 81st Diagnostics and Therapeutics Squadron, served as chief of apheresis during his deployment to Balad Air Base, Iraq, from September 2008-January 2009. At Keesler, he's chief of the laboratory pathology flight's transfusion services. 

Three Keesler clinical technicians deployed with the captain and served on his team -- Staff Sgts. Quintella Collins and Melissa Prickett and Senior Airman Johnalee Rivera. 

The team's noncommissioned officer in charge was Tech. Sgt. Nicole Dirickson from Luke Air Force Base, Ariz. 

They were part of the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Support Squadron commanded by Lt. Col. David Johnson, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho. 

Because Balad's apheresis equipment differed from Keesler's, Captain Curtis and the three lab techs spent two weeks at Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland AFB, Texas, en route to Iraq.  They trained on equipment that Wilford Hall had purchased specifically for this purpose. 

"I learned how to manage the apheresis unit and they learned how to use the apheresis equipment and how to collect units of whole blood," the captain explained. "Deployed equipment has to be smaller and sturdier than that used in stateside labs due to the need for rapid mobility." 

The lab team worked 12-hour days, six days a week. 

"We collected about 180 units of platelets a month, keeping half for Balad and shipping the other half throughout Iraq," he said. "We saw an average of seven donors daily, making shipments for four days followed by a day off. Although the Army hospital in Baghdad also collected platelets, we collected nearly five times their volume." He added that the Army also provides apheresis service in Afghanistan, at the Bagram AB hospital. 

He said transfusions were down overall at Balad, but that was an indication of the reduction in number of wounded patients seen at the facility. However, they still had to collect platelets "just in case." 

"When I was deployed to Al Udeid (Air Base, Qatar) from January-May 2007, the tempo was much higher. It's dropped off considerably in the last two years."