Civil Air Patrol Composite Squadron 305 members from Scottsdale and across the state gathered at Falcon Field in Mesa Dec. 22 for the group’s 100th blood drive in three years and their third this year.
Operation Pulse Lift began in April 2017 as a community service project and rallied big in March 2020 when the U.S. Surgeon General noted the closure of thousands of blood donor centers because of the pandemic.
CAP Lt. Col. Bob Ditch proposed using Civil Air Patrol facilities and members to support blood donation centers and Operation Pulse Lift was mobilized.
“During the initial nine-month surge response of 2020, CAP hosted 43 temporary blood donation centers at six sites in Arizona,” a spokeswoman said. “With other donations from CAP members nationwide, Operation Pulse Lift supported the collection of 1,530 blood units, becoming one of the largest consistent temporary blood donation programs in the nation,” she added.
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