Info You Need to Know Before Donation Platelets
Everything y'all demand to know about platelet donation.
How to donate platelets?
All you have to do is brand an appointment at one of our donor centers! Click on i of the links to the right (or call if you're a Michigan donor) and you can schedule your day to save a life.
What is platelet donation?
Platelet donations are a special type of claret donation. Our blood is made up of unlike parts, too called components: red cells, plasma, and platelets. Of the 3, platelets are considered a precious resource – not simply exercise they make up a minor fraction of our blood, but platelets simply last for five days exterior of the trunk. That means when a donor gets up subsequently their donation, the platelets they exit behind will exist used past a patient in a local hospital within the week.
What are platelets used for and who tin they assist?
Platelets are a component of claret that promotes clotting. They are named after their plate-like shape, and when activated, platelets develop viscid spikes that help them cluster together to seal off cuts and other wounds. Platelets are body's natural bandages!
Platelets are incredibly important in a wide range of treatments for patients of all kinds, including premature babies, warriors fighting cancer, trauma victims, and those receiving organ or bone marrow transplants.
Harlow Millies
I such patient who has benefited from platelet donations is Harlow Millies. In 2017, Harlow was diagnosed with leukemia. During an intense two-and-a-half-year treatment program, she received multiple platelet transfusions to help her trunk recover from therapy.
Harlow is just one of many patients who need platelet transfusions to stay healthy.
Read her full story here.
Who can donate platelets?
Donors of all blood types are encouraged to donate! Donors give platelets through a process called apheresis, which nosotros explicate in another section beneath.
Anyone who has ever been pregnant is encouraged to offer up their arm for a regular blood donation (called a 'whole blood' donation) and permit staff know they're interested in donating platelets. A small-scale sample of blood will be taken for testing to see if they're eligible. The reasoning behind this is that sure antibodies tin develop during pregnancy that are harmful if transfused into sure patients. Unfortunately, these antibodies are present forever, so if a donor tests positive for them they will exist unable to donate platelets. That existence said, those donors are however eligible to donate other components!
How oft can you donate platelets?
Platelets can be donated up to 24 times a year, and we unremarkably ask donors to wait 2 weeks between appointments. The modest percentage of platelets that you donate volition be quickly replenished by your trunk.
What is apheresis (ay-fur-ee-sis)?
The easiest way to define apheresis is taking one part of your claret and giving you back the rest. This is the process of giving platelets: blood is nerveless using a sophisticated machine where platelets are separated from the rest of your blood and the remaining components (such as plasma or red cells) are safely returned to y'all through the aforementioned arm.
How long does information technology take to donate platelets?
We reserve 2-hour appointments to ensure enough time for the unabridged process and you lot are encouraged to bring a book, watch a moving-picture show, or just sit dorsum and relax. Remember: your donation volition benefit a local patient inside the week!
How to prepare for platelet donation
Just like altruistic blood, platelet donors will desire to get a good night's sleep on the night leading upwardly to their donation. Dissimilar donating whole blood, you lot are required to avoid aspirin for 48 hours earlier donation, as it volition touch on the clotting properties of your platelets. We as well recommend that donors drink fluids and have a full meal prior to your donation.
Stretching the stomach with a full repast opens the blood vessels around the stomach and constricts them in the rest of the body, resulting in an increased blood pressure. This helps you better tolerate a donation," said Dr. Lee Ann Weitekamp, Medical Managing director.
Am I eligible to donate platelets?
As long as you are 17-years-old and come across the minimum requirements for donating whole blood you may exist able to donate platelets. Visit the whole blood donation eligibility requirements to learn more.
Be Part of the Platelet Donor Buoy Gild
Platelet Recipient Stories
Daxton LaRue
Daxton LaRue was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2016 at only 5 years quondam and has spent more than half his life battling the disease.
View Story
Jackie Kold
"No matter how healthy you are, you never know when y'all or someone you beloved will need claret," said Jackie. "I hope my story inspires others to requite this special souvenir."
View Story
Harlow Millies
Harlow Millies from Hartland, Wis., was diagnosed with high-risk astute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2017. Suddenly, a happy and good for you child began fighting for her life.
View Story
Source: https://www.versiti.org/ways-to-give/blood-donation/platelet-donation
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