Tyler morning Telegraph Obituaries .....2 Movies 3 TV ..............4 WOMEN'S I Section 2 Monday, July 24, 2000 2000, Tyler Morning Telegraph Immigrant Made From Sterne Stuff Critic Need -l i -Staff Photo By John Huseth FAITHFUL SUPPLIER: Tonya Wesley, special collection technician for the Tyler. Center employees say they are down to a one-day supply on all blood Stewart Regional Blood Center, takes blood from donor Sam Hamilton of types. Local, State Agencies Report Blood Supply Critically Low By ASHLEY TOMPKINS Staff Writer Grady Stewart had his way, everyone would donate blood as often as possible. I For example, according to Dr. Kalmin, a liver transplant typically uses only a few units of blood.
However, if something goes awry during the surgery or the patient doesn't have sufficient clotting factors, that single procedure may require 80 pints of blood. "We feel that the decrease in blood donations is also due to the heat, family vacations, and the fact that school is out for the summer," Mrs. Mumphrey said. The center hosted numerous blood drives at local school and colleges during the school year and received a good turnout, Mrs. Mumphrey said.
"At this point, we are just trying to get to the start of school and then we will begin our drives in September at various campuses," Moore said. To serve 28 counties, the center must have daily donations. By ARCHIE P. MCDONALD Nicholas Adolphus Sterne, German-Jewish immigrant to the East Texas frontier, was a mover and a shaker in the early period of Texas history. Urbane and sophisticated, Sterne made his home in Nacogdoches into a salon that preserved many Old World ways.
Sterne was born on April 5, 1801, in Cologne, the eldest son of Emmanuel Sterne, an Orthodox Jew, and his second wife, Helen, a Lutheran. His wife, Eva Rosine Catherine Puff, another German immigrant Sterne met after coming to Texas, was a Roman Catholic. Sterne himself was really a Deist, meaning that he acknowledged a Supreme Being and supported most religions but distrusted evangelicals. EARLY YEARS Sterne arrived in New Orleans at the age of 16 and found work in a mercantile establishment. He also stud- -ied law for a while, and though he never became a lawyer, he acted as a land agent and even a county judge in Texas.
While in New Orleans Sterne became a Mason. In 1837 he helped establish Milam Lodge No. 2 in Nacogdoches and a year later became deputy grand master of the first Grand Lodge of Texas. He is considered the first Scottish Rite Mason in Texas. Early in the 1820s Sterne became a back peddler in the Mississippi Valley, ranging as far north as Nashville, Tennessee, where he met and befriended Sam Houston.
When Houston came to Texas in 1832 he lived for a time in Sterne's home and underwent the obligatory baptism to become a Roman Catholic, a requirement in Mexican Texas, in the parlor of Sterne's home in Nacogdoches. IN NACOGDOCHES Sterne first visited Nacogdoches in 1824 and then made his home there after 1826. He arrived in time to be a participant in the Fredonia Rebellion and received a death sentence for his part in the rebellion, though it was commuted upon his oath never again to take up arms against Mexico. True to his word, Sterne did not participate in combat during the Texas Revolution, although he did pay for two companies known as the New Orleans Greys to come to Texas and serve at the Alamo and Goliad. Sterne prospered in the mercantile trade in Nacogdoches and accumulated more than 16,000 acres in East Texas.
He served in various local offices, in the Congress of the Republic, and in the Second, Third, and Fourth sessions of the Texas legislature. Sterne died on March 27, 1852, in New Orleans, but is interred in Oak Grove Cemetery in Nacogdoches, only a few hundred yards from his home on Lanana Street. ZEST FOR LIFE Sterne was a fun-loving, active man with a zest for life. He enjoyed dancing and was fond of playing whist. He was marked by the vices of his day, including keeping slaves, but he was not a hypocrite.
Mostly self-educated, he spoke seven languages. Most importantly, Sterne kept a daily diary from 1840 until 1851 that provides an wonderful window into life in East Texas in the 19th centu- ry. Sterne emerges from the pages of his diary as much more than the "rosy little Jew" that he is so often called in biographies of his friend Sam Houston. He was a man who met his times with a powerful force or accomplishment. He was a Renaissance Man who did more things well than most of his contemporaries in East Texas.
SHELF LIFE OF BLOOD COMPONENTS Red Blood Cells 42 days liquid 10 years frozen Platelets 5 days 4 hours once pooled Plasma ...........1 year frozen 24 hours once thawed of fears the virus that causes the disease could be transmitted through transfusions. However, there has been no clinical test for "mad cow disease," and it has never been demonstrated that it can be contracted through blood transfusion. Officials estimate the question will eliminate 2.2 percent of all the nation's donors, or some 300,000 pints a year. "Every time you make the blood supply safer you're reducing the donor pool," Teague said. New donors aren't coming to the plate to replace regular donors who are being discouraged.
Veterans who remember traumatic wartime conflicts are among the nation's most productive and unchanging blood donors. Some feel that donating blood is part of their patriotic duty and remember the calls to donate blood during the wars. "Tragedies bring out the donors in droves, such as last year's bonfire disaster. They may not be able to write a check for $100, but they can donate a pint of blood to help and they do," said Marshal Cothran, chief executive officer of the Blood and Tissue Center of Central Texas in Austin, in a recent Texas Medicine article. "Our challenge is to make those who respond aware of the continuous need and turn them into regular, repeat blood donors." The 1997 tornado devastation to the city of Jarrell also prompted one of Austin's most prominent citizens to donate blood at the Blood and Tissue Center in Central Texas.
Luci Barnes Johnson, an Austin businesswoman and daughter of former President Lyndon B. Johnson, stood in line for two hours to donate blood for the storm victims. "The blood center is an effort that is critical to the well-being of us all. It's about helping one another by giving one of the most precious gifts, the gift of life. Blood costs noting to give, yet the gift is priceless," Ms.
Johnson said, in a recent Texas Medicine article. According to information found in Texas Medicine, running a blood bank is no cheap undertaking. Apheresis equipment costs about $50,000 a unit. Add a capital investment ongoing expenses that include a $100 one-time-use kit needed for every collection, and two to four hours of a technician's time to operate the apheresis equipment. Officials said the economic pressures on the nation's blood supply are being felt by all.
"One has to look at the blood bank as a valuable community resource," Kalmin urged. "You're not supporting the blood bank by donating, you're supporting the health care services in the community." Clinical investigation in the development of red-cell substitutes that could be used for acute trauma patients and those undergoing surgery are currently being researched. Despite technological advances, "the only factor that produces blood is the human body," Kalmin said. People wishing to donate blood may stop by at the center Monday thru Fridays, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
and from 9:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. on Saturday's. The center is also opened until 8 p.m. on Thursdays.
The blood center also has locations in Longview, Lufkin," Marshall, Mount Pleasant and Paris. Donators must be 17 years old and weigh 110 pounds. They must also be in good general health and bring a picture ID. "I donate blood as often as I can," Stewart said. The day that I am eligible to donate, I do.
I have a desire to give to people and this is the best way that I know how to." Stewart, 70 and a native of Tyler, has been donating blood locally since 1956. "I donated before 1956 in my hometown in Georgia and I donated during my four years in the air force regularly." Stewart, who feels a need to share, has seen traumatic situations where blood has been needed terribly. "It is a commodity which there is no substitute for. The only way to get blood is for people to donate it," Stewart said. Stewart, also a hospice volunteer, has often donated every three or four weeks.
"I donate as often as I can depending on what I am donating," Stewart said. "I encourage all of my friends to donate as often as possible too." However, levels of the blood being donated locally and state-wide show that not everyone is as dedicated as Stewart. "We have a one-day supply on all blood types, which puts us in critical stages," Renay Moore, director of donor and community services, said. "We are trying to get back to a three to five day blood supply, but people have to donate." This time last year, the center had 100 to 200 units of blood at all times," Tiffenii Mumphrey, public relations and marketing coordinator for Stewart Regional Blood Center, said. According to a study released by the government, there will soon be a 300,000 unit shortage across the United States.
"The study said that the shortage is partly due to the heat level increase," Mrs. Mumphrey said. We are also seeing a shortage due to local auto vehicle wrecks and cancer treatments that are being done locally. All of these factors add up to blood being used. However, there is no increase in the donations." All of the blood that is donated to the center stays local.
"We are seeing an increase in traumas, which can also account for a large amount of blood needed," Mrs. Mumphrey said. Fortunately, no surgeries have had to be rescheduled or canceled, Moore said. "We've been close to rescheduling, but haven't had to yet. Earlier in the year, Dallas and Houston hospitals had to reschedule surgeries due to the shortage of blood statewide," Moore said.
In a recent article for Texas Medicine, Bill Teague, chief executive officer of the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center in Houston, said in the 42 years that he's been in blood banking, he has never seen shortages like those experienced over the last five years. "I've seen a spike in blood usage of 10 percent to 15 percent since last October," Dr. Norman D. Kalmin, president and medical director of the South Texas Blood Tissue Center in San Antonio, said in a recent article in Texas Medicine. Dr.
Kalmin attributes the "sustained increase to several factors, including more whole organ transplant surgeries." "Our goal each day is to have 200 donators each day. And I can say for the month of June, we did not meet that goal," Mrs. Mumphrey said. SAFE SUPPLY America's blood supply has never been safer. According to a recent article in Texas Medicine, federal agencies have taken extraordinary steps to ensure that the nation does not relive the horror story that the AIDS epidemic caused in the early 1980s.
Teague said when he became involved in blood banking in 1958, the only test performed on pint of donated blood was for syphilis, a test initiated in the 1940s. Today, blood routinely undergoes 12 different tests for seven infectious diseases, including hepatitis and and HIV. AIDS can be detected within 14 days after infection with the current serological screening tests, but the NAT test is believed to be capable of detecting the DNA of the virus five to seven days earlier. "There have been tremendous advances in blood transfusions. It can be used in different cancer treatments, surgery, traumas and can replace blood loss," Mrs.
Mumphrey said. DONOR SCREENING Along with the blood testing, donors are now being screened. According to a recent article in Texas Medicine, people who lived in the United Kingdom for six months or more between 1980 and 1996 are no longer eligible to donate blood because Hardistys Celebrate 50th Anniversary TUESDAY Dawson. Speaker: Sharon founder and president of Hepatitis Advocate Network. ToughLove of Tyler: 7 p.m., St." Francis Episcopal Church, 3232 Jan.
A self-help program for parents troubled by teen-age and adult children's behavior, including drugs, violence, truancy, Topic: "Moving on After Letting Go." For information, call 825-6747 or Event open to public. Tyler Elks Lodge No. 215: 7:30 p.mj 3815 Texas Highway 64 West. Regular; meeting. Tyler Rebekah Lodge No.
142. 7.30 p.m., 220 12 W. Erwin. Regular meeting. 1 Holt House 10 a.m., 709 S.
Bois d'Arc. Beginners bridge. Meals on Wheels: 11:30 a.m., University Christian Church, 3500 Old Omen Road. Meals served to seniors, age 60 and over. Tuesday menu: Chicken salad.
For reservations, call 839-3612. Downtown Brown Bag Co-Dependents Anonymous: 12:10 p.m., basem*nt of Christ Episcopal Church, 118 S. Bois d'Arc. Weekly sharing session for recovering co-dependents. East Texas Chronic Liver Disease Support Group: 7 p.m., Wisenbaker Center, Mother Frances Hospital, 800 E.
Tyler Senior Center 8 a.m.-5 p.m., 1915 Garden Valley Road. Games and activities; free bridge, 9:30 a.m.; meals served to seniors, age 60 and over, 11:30 a.m. p.m.; oil painting classes, p.m. For information, call 597-0781. Taking Off Founds Sensibly No.
TX 471: 8-10 a.m., Pollard United Methodist Church, 3030 Copeland Road. Program: Demonstration on exercising with balloons, an easy routine for almost anyone. For information, call 509-2833, 839-2083 or 592-0994. Mr. and Mrs.
Harry Hardisty of Tyler celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Sunday with a reception at Glenwood United Methodist Church in Tyler. The couple's sons were hosts. Mr. Hardisty married the former Shirley Ditzig in Waukegan, 111., July 23, 1950. Both are retired and are members of Glenwood United Methodist Church.
Children are Harry "Hank" Hardisty III and George Hardisty, both of Tyler. They also have three grandchildren and one great-grandchild. This column is provided as a public service by the East Texas Historical Association. Archie P. McDonald is director of the East Texas Historical Association and author or editor of more than 20 books on Texas..
