Blood donating is not just donating blood anymore. In this article you will see the other ways that your donation can be used. You can donate your blood, Double Red Cells, Platelets, and Plasma. There are guidelines that need to be followed as in with any blood donation.
There are some very good reasons to donate your blood. To save lives, learn your blood type, and there is no substitute for human blood, are some of the top reasons. About only 60 % of the population are eligible to donate, but only about 5 percent of these people that can, do.
There are general requirements to give blood, including that you need to be at least 17, weigh at least 110 pounds, and be in general good health. You should always eat a well balanced meal within four hours of donating for your own safety. You also need to have valid identification such as a drivers license.
Many people think that you can get AIDS from giving blood. This is not true, as in any reputable place that is taking blood donations, only sterile, disposable equipment is used during the donation process. This makes it virtually impossible to contract AIDS or any other disease through this process.
You may not however donate blood if you have AIDS or if you have cancer such as Hematological, for example Hodgkin, Leukemia, and Lymphomas. Also you can not donate if you have Hepatitis after the age of 11 or have had a positive lab test for the virus. You can not donate if you have had kidney, lung or liver failure. There are also guidelines to follow if you have had any immunizations. There are other instances that in which you can not donate and you can obtain a list from your local hospital.
To donate blood, the prospective donor first complete a health history questionnaire and a screening interview. You will have your blood pressure checked, your pulse, temperature and a test for anemia. If your medical requirements are met, a unit, which is about one pint, of blood will be drawn from you. After you are done with this, you are served refreshments while you are resting for about 15 minutes. The entire process takes about one hour from start to finish, but will last someone a lifetime.
Donating Double Red Cells
Donating Double Red Cells has a different set of eligibility restrictions, in where as the donor needs to be at least 5’1″ in height and weigh at least 130 pounds if you are a man, be at least 5’5″ tall and weigh at least 150 pounds if you are a woman, with at least a hematocrit of at least 40 %, male or female.
To have this done, an automatic red cell collection system collects two units of red cells at once form eligible donors. It usually takes about ten to fifteen minutes more. A smaller needle is used than in with whole blood donation. It is safe and everything is sterile and completely disposable. There are single use kits that are used and discarded after each procedure. You will not be eligible to donate again for four months.
The red cells carry oxygen to all parts of the body. They are most needed after someone has lost a large amount of blood from either trauma or surgery, and are used to treat anemia and other blood diseases. An accident victim may use anywhere from four to a hundred units of red blood cells.
There are two parts to donating double red cells. You have the draw process and the return process. Your whole blood is drawn from you and separated into plasma and red cells by a centrifuge. Plasma and saline are then returned to the donor while the centrifuge continues to separated the whole blood. This cycle is repeated until the target red cell volume is achieved. During the final return phase of the process, all the donors other blood components are returned to the donor, along with the saline, replenishing most of the lost fluids. This system is not available everywhere, you will need to check with your local hospital for more information on where this can be done.
Donating Platelets
Platelets are blood cells that help control bleeding. When a blood vessel is damaged, the platelets collect at the opening and temporarily repair the tear or cut. Then the platelets activate substances in plasma which form a clot and allow the wound to heal. Apheresis is a special kind of blood donation allowing the donor to give specific components such as platelets.
Depending on the injury or illness, different patients need different types of blood components. Only two tablespoons of platelets are collected from a whole blood donation. Six whole blood donations must be separated and pooled to give enough palettes to provide a single platelet transfusion. One donation of this type provides enough platelets for one complete transfusion.
Cancer patients, organ or marrow transplants, trauma patients, and patients undergoing open heart surgery require platelet transfusions to survive. The need for platelet collection is great in that the platelets can be stored for only five days.
Blod is drawn from your arm through sterile tubing into a centrifuge such as used for double red cell collection. The centrifuge spins the blood to separate the components, because they vary in weight and density. The spinning tubing has different levels at which each weight of components are at, and a port is opened to allow the platelets to be drawn up into a collection bag, allowing their remaining blood components be returned to you. This progress takes about seventy minutes to two hours to complete and you are able to watch television or videos or listen to music, use the internet, or just simply relax while you are there.
Apheresis donation is safe and only a small amount of your platelets are collected, so there is no risk of bleeding problems. Your body will replace the donated platelets within 48 hourss. All the donation equipment is sterile and discarded after every donation.
Plasma is the liquid portion of the blood and carries vital nutrients and critical clotting factors. You can give plasma donations every four weeks. It is used to treat patients with bleeding disorders, burn victims, organ transplants and premature infants. They ask that if you have been pregnant or if you have had a transfusion, that you donate double red cells or whole blood, to reduce the risk of serious reactions.
As with any of the donation processes, this is safe and everything is sterile and any donation equipment used is discarded after use. Plasma donation works the same way as platelet donation and takes the same amount of time.
The choice is always yours if you wish to donate life saving blood to someone who will need it. Some feel that this is a way to give back to the community and to help save someone’s life.
