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Eight-year-old Karishma rests following her heart surgery. The surgery was performed by military doctors at the hospital at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Aug. 14, 2005. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Tara TeelThe efforts of two Special Forces medical personnel and a military doctor at Bagram Airfield's hospital ensure an ailing Afghan girl receives life-saving heart surgery BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Aug. 23, 2005 — Karishma tried to be like any other eight-year-old, running and playing with endless energy, but for her, there was a limit to her energy. She would not be able to look forward to a normal, long life because...

VIRGINIA BEACH — When Maria Alexandra Nara met Bill Arndt in 1997, they were nervous and not sure what to say. After a few minutes, the conversation flowed and their excitement was almost electric. Today as Nara walks down the aisle toward her future husband, Arndt will be all smiles – and some tears, he admits – even though he’s not the groom. The events that would bring the two together began in January 1996. Nara, who goes by Alex, was 22 and seriously ill. She lived in Kempsville and needed a kidney transplant. Dialysis had been part of her...

Sees sights after G.I. helped him get lifesaving surgery An Afghan boy brought to the U.S. last month for a heart operation after a soldier took up his cause came to New York yesterday to sightsee and show off the boundless energy of a typical 12-year-old. "Before, I cannot walk so much," Assadullah Khan said during the whirlwind trip with his father and interpreter to meet the "nice people" who helped save his life. "Now, I walk everywhere. I can walk and run." Until last month's operation to patch a hole in his heart, Assadullah could barely walk across a...

A critical shortage of blood is forcing some hospitals to postpone surgeries and compelling the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center to sound the alarm. The blood bank put out an urgent call for donations Thursday — its second this week — and announced plans to extend office hours at its central location and at donation rooms in San Antonio. "We have heard from the hospitals we serve, and they are postponing and delaying some surgeries," spokeswoman Carmen Davila said. The blood bank collected 700 units of blood Wednesday, a day after it issued its first appeal, and expected to...

News Release BLOOD BANKING COMMUNITY ENCOURAGES AMERICANS TO GIVE BLOOD THIS JANUARY DURING NATIONAL VOLUNTEER BLOOD DONOR MONTH Goal is to Collect Donations from Those Who Have Yet to Give the “Gift of Life” WASHINGTON (January 1, 2004) – Representatives from the nation’s blood banking community are challenging all eligible Americans who have yet to donate blood for the first time to make a New Year’s resolution to give the “gift of life.” The American Association of Blood Banks (AABB), America’s Blood Centers (ABC), and the American Red Cross (ARC) issued this request to kick off National Volunteer Blood Donor...