WRNMMC, Bethesda, Md. –
The Association for the Advancement of Blood and Biotherapies (AABB) recently reaccredited the Blood Services Department at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) after conducting a year-long document review and recent on-site visit.
For U.S. Army Maj. Steven E. McDaniel, the chief of the Blood Services Department, ensuring the safety of Walter Reed’s blood supply is in his DNA, having served the nation for 32-years as a researcher, manager and officer dedicated to military medicine.
“Our tri-service blood banking teaching roles at the resident, graduate, post-graduate, and enlisted technician levels, spark us to pursue innovation and to collaborate with our worldwide counterparts,” shared McDaniel.
Armed Services Blood Program
Walter Reed is part of the Defense Health Agency’s Armed Services Blood Program (ASBP), a joint operation among the military services working to collect, process, store, transport and transfuse blood worldwide.
The ASBP is regulated by strict regulations from the Food and Drug Administration to maintain the safety and quality of blood products. In fact, the ASBP adheres to the same standards and requirements as civilian collection agencies, and along with them, receive accreditation by the AABB – an international, not-for-profit association representing individuals and institutions involved in the fields of transfusion medicine and biotherapies.
Blood Services Dream Team
A year ago, McDaniel formed a dream team to coordinate drafting, collating and submitting all the electronic records needed by the AABB to begin the highly nuanced document review. He credits Steven Beardsley and Silivia Blackshire, quality assurance coordinators for the Armed Services Blood Bank Center (ASBBC) and managers with the Transfusion Services (TXN SVC) for their efforts in submitting the department’s electronic filings to the AABB’s accreditation portal (APEX).
Long before the on-site inspection, McDaniel and his team collected required background information on the accessors to facilitate the vetting process required by security teams at Walter Reed and Naval Support Activity Bethesda.
AABB On-Site Inspection
The inspection was a rigorous two-day process, which took place between November 27-28. After McDaniel and his team welcomed the inspectors, the group conducted a thorough room-to-room compliance check.
Equipment checks were conducted and preventive maintenance data from the Biomedical Equipment Maintenance Division were reviewed.
“Our state-of-the-art document control system is integrated with our inspection preparation software, which is also integrated with our competency assessment and training records, “ said McDaniel. “Each key section is assigned a Quality Coordinator with authority to serve as an early warning to our directors to quickly address problems when identified.”
Armed Services Blood Program: We Do It All - Collect, Test, Transport and Transfuse
McDaniel, who previously served as the director of the Joint Blood Program with the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) while stationed in Qatar, embraces the ASBP ethos of providing well-maintained blood and blood products to those in need.
According to ASBP, 40 or more units of blood may be needed for a single trauma victim, eight units of platelets may be required daily by leukemia patients undergoing treatment.
The need for the safe and reliable collection of blood and platelets is consistent, if not relentless, in time of war or in response to natural disasters, according to the ASBP.
“Walter Reed is one of 20 dedicated ASBP blood collection and distribution sites ready to deliver on behalf of our nation’s heroes and their families,” said McDaniel – ready to respond at a moment’s notice.