1 million veterans donate blood to help someone else

Project seeks 1 million veterans to give blood, DNA for disease research
Department of Veterans Affairs working to uncover genetic mysteries

By Meredith Cohn, The Baltimore Sun
4:23 p.m. EST, February 5, 2012

Air Force veteran Aaron Franz of Baltimore has donated his blood for a genetics project by the Veterans Administration. (Algerina Perna, Baltimore Sun / February 2, 2012)

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is looking for a few good men and women to volunteer for a battle it's waging at home — against disease.

Actually, more than a few are needed. Officials overseeing health care for the nation's veterans are undertaking what may be the largest effort of its kind in the nation, to collect medical records and blood samples from a million former service members for a bank of genetic information.

The idea is to give researchers enough DNA and other data to link specific genes to mental and physical maladies, from post-traumatic stress disorder to heart disease, and eventually develop new preventive measures or treatments.

"We did tell them that this may not benefit them directly," said Dr. Joel Kupersmith, the VA's chief research and development officer. "But vets are very altruistic people and they're likely to help if you tell them it will benefit someone else."
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