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8/24/2009 - JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq (AFNS) -- The pint-sized bags of cloudy, yellow liquid may not look like much, but the fluid inside them has proved to be a lifesaving substance to injured servicemembers. "Platelets heal. I've seen it firsthand," said Lt. Col. Thomas Jordan, the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Support Squadron platelet aphaeresis chief. "I was here in 2006 when we first brought platelets into modern warfare by using them (at Joint Base Balad)," Colonel Jordan said. "We noticed an increase in the survival rate compared to when we were using whole blood. They serve as the main factor...

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, March 19, 2009 – Servicemembers here may not be on the front lines, but their life-saving actions still make them heroes. A laboratory technician for the Army’s 440th Blood Support Detachment ensures all equipment is functioning properly as Army Sgt. Mark Poczobut donates blood platelets at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, March 19, 2009. Blood platelets donated at Bagram provide much of Afghanistan with the highly perishable blood component. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Derek L. Kuhn  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. With the assistance of the Army’s 440th Blood Support Detachment at the Craig Joint Theater...

A platelet-rich gel derived from one's own blood could speed up the healing of wounds and cuts.Researchers at the University of Cincinnati say that a topical gel derived from a patient's own blood may help prevent infection while speeding up the healing process. The finding could mean that, in the not too distant future, a concentrated "cocktail" of a person's own blood could be used to help dress wounds, particularly in patients with diabetes or other disorders that slow the healing process. Blood's healing effects lie in its platelets--sticky, disc-shaped molecules that naturally flock to the site of a wound,...