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Follow Navy Captain Fahie, program director, as he visits critical military blood program locations.

Combating Illness through Blood

10/12/2016
By Jeffery Diffy, ASBP Blood Donor Recruiter, North Chicago, Ill.

Left picture: Seaman Recruit Shannon McNamara thanks all the blood donors that have provided the blood her father needs to remain healthy. Right picture: Thanks to the blood products John McNamara (second from left) needs to treat his illness, he was able to spend time with his family on a recent cruise vacation. Pictured from left to right are: Seaman Recruit Shannon McNamara, John McNamara, cruise Capt. Thord Haugen and Shelby McNamara.

Army veteran John J. McNamara III operated M-60 Patton tanks in the U.S. Army National Guard. As a U.S. Army National Guard lieutenant, he knows what it takes to combat the adversary on the opposite side of the field. His training taught him how to stay safe while defending his position and this Soldier served well.

Unfortunately, when the adversary became an illness from within, McNamara had to learn a new way to combat the threat. Blood donations were the ammunition McNamara needed to keep fighting.

When a rare immune disorder caused by saddle anesthesia, polyneuropathy, Guillian-Barre and cauda equine syndromes became a problem, McNamara began treatment with a product made from blood donations. He shares his battle story.

“Last year I became ill, and it was found that I'm fighting an infection,” he said. “My immune system was damaging the same nerves in my hips and legs as the infection as; so to combat this, every month I go to get a week of intravenous immunoglobulin treatments. It takes 100s of pints of blood to get enough of the derivative need for each IVIG infusions. Without these I would not be in a good way. With them, my life is much more normal.”

McNamara provided the details of his story while receiving treatment for his illness. He continues to demonstrate the effectiveness of being battle tested over time.

His daughter, Seaman Recruit Shannon McNamara, will graduate boot camp Oct. 7 with Recruit Training Command Division 948.

Shannon McNamara is as proud of her father as she is of her for serving in the U.S. Navy.

“I donate blood because it helps other people,” she said. “I can make more blood and it isn’t much of an inconvenience for anyone to donate blood. My dad has a better quality of life today because of blood donors.”
When asked about what she enjoys when not attending boot camp she said: “I love playing my flute and reading books. The only books we have here to read are our training guides and the Bible. I can wait to be able to read again all the time.”

She also said she misses her cat Pippy.

“Division 943 is the best division ever,” she said. “My shipmates have my back and I never realized how many brothers and sisters I have in the Navy.”

“Thanks to Shannon and all who have participated,” John McNamara said. “You make a huge difference in many people's lives.”

About the Armed Services Blood Program
Since 1962, the Armed Services Blood Program has served as the sole provider of blood for the United States military. As a tri-service organization, the ASBP collects, processes, stores and distributes blood and blood products to Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and their families worldwide. As one of four national blood collection organizations trusted to ensure the nation has a safe, potent blood supply, the ASBP works closely with our civilian counterparts by sharing donors on military installations where there are no military blood collection centers and by sharing blood products in times of need to maximize availability of this national treasure. To find out more about the ASBP or to schedule an appointment to donate, please visit www.militaryblood.dod.mil. To interact directly with ASBP staff members, see more photos or get the latest news, follow @militaryblood on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube and Pinterest. Find the drop. Donate.

The Armed Services Blood Program is a proud recipient of the Army Maj. Gen. Keith L. Ware Public Affairs award for journalism.