Office of Defense Cooperation handed over two ‘Haier’ low-temperature freezers to the Ministry of Defense (MOD) Main Military Clinical Hospital in Kyiv On July 24 the U.S. Embassy Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC) in Ukraine represented by the ODC Chief LTC Rueschhoff and BAO staff handed over two ‘Haier’ low-temperature freezers to the Ministry of Defense (MOD) Main Military Clinical Hospital in Kyiv for storage of donor blood components. This date was chosen to coincide with the completion of the renovation of the MOD blood service laboratory premises dedicated to installation and launching the new medical equipment procured by U.S. Department of Defense HIV/AIDS Prevention Program (DHAPP). In April of 2013 two “Haier” medical low-temperature large freezers were procured by the ODC with DHAPP funding for the MOD blood service to support blood safety programs within the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The MOD and the hospital leadership provided support for the renovation of the laboratory infrastructure to accommodate the new equipment, which requires special usage and maintenance conditions. The MOD remodeled the facility and a required air temperature/moisture control was installed. The new equipment replaces old Soviet equipment providing the highest quality and capacity for longer-term storage of donor blood, plasma and blood components to be used by peacekeepers. “The DHAPP blood safety program is focused on reinforcing the blood safety and lab infrastructure to ensure the highest efficiency of the HIV/AIDS prevention program implementation in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.” – LTC Tracey Rueschhoff said. The next step in the DHAPP blood safety activities is a visit of the U.S. technical expert to the MOD blood service labs to assess the status of the current infrastructure and identify the most critical needs for future bilateral cooperation and support. "The transfer of these freezers for the storage of donor blood components marks the opening of the upgraded transfusion department and the expedition of the Blood Center of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," acting Director of the Military and Medical Department at the Ukrainian Defense Ministry Colonel Vitaliy Andronaty said during a ceremony dedicating the equipment to the main military clinic in Kyiv. The chief of the blood center, Anatoliy Zamkovy, said that the modern freezing equipment given to the military hospital can keep rare blood groups and plasma for up to 10 years. "One low-temperature freezer has a capacity of 600 liters, or 1,600 doses, and the other - 400 liters," he said. DHAPP contributions to the project totaled $39,000.
Posted on: Wed, 11 Sep 2013 08:14:53 +0000
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