Plasma & Platelet Donation

Plasma and Platelet Donation
(The Washington Post, August 21, 2001)

While blood donation is a familiar concept to most people, fewer are aware that there's also a need for individual blood components--platelets, plasma, red cells, and white cells--and the need is expected to rise.

Platelets--the blood component responsible for clotting--are used primarily for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiation treatment, and by bone marrow transplant recipients. One platelet donation provides an entire transfusion to an adult patient, in contrast to the six to eight donations of whole blood that are needed to obtain the same number of platelets, said Harvey Klein, director of the division of transfusion at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda.

"[Blood component donation] is largely unknown to the general public, but it's something most people can do and it's very important," Klein said.

Eligibility criteria are the same as for whole blood donation: Donors must be healthy, over 17 years of age, and weigh at least 110 pounds. They must also answer questions aimed at screening out individuals who may have been exposed to potentially transmissible diseases, including those who engage in high-risk sexual behaviors and some who have visited countries with cases of mad cow disease.

Like those who give blood, platelet donors aren't paid. (This policy was adopted in the 1970's to remove any incentive to people to lie about their medical histories.) Doctors or hospitals pay blood collection centers about $300 for a standard dose of platelets--enough to treat a typical adult, said Klein.

Demand for platelets and other blood components is expected to increase, Klein said, as the population ages and more platelets undergo aggressive cancer treatments. Tighter government controls on blood products, meant to stem the spread of infection, have also limited supply.

Individual blood components are collected from donors by a process called apheresis, in which blood is taken from the donor's arm vein, run through a centrifuge that removes the needed cells and then returned to the donor through the same vien or through one in the other arm.

Apheresis donations take from one to 2 and 1/2 hours, depending on which blood component is being harvested and whether the process is a one-arm or two-arm donation. (Two is quicker.) Donors typically spend the time watching TV or videos.

A donor's platelet level returns to normal in about 48 hours, but federal regulations limit the total number of donations to 24 a year. Some centers allow donors to give platelets every two weeks. Others, including the National Institutes of Health, require an interval of at least a month.

Apheresis donation is safe, and the needles don't hurt once they're in. But donors may feel some odd sensations. Because blood returns from the centrifuge at room temperature, which is lower than body temperature, most donors feel cold throughout the procedure and are often wrapped in blankets.

Also, the anticoagulant that's added to the blood can cause blood calcium levels to drop temporarily, producing a tingling feeling in the arms, legs, and lips. Particularly sensitive donors are given calcium supplements such as Tums.

Resources for Blood Component Donations

*The American Red Cross operates apheresis centers in the District, Fairfax, and Frederick. For appointments, call 800-272-2123 or visit the website www.redcrossdc.org
*Children's National Medical Center: 202-884-KIDS
*Inova Blood Donor Services, Annandale: 703-207-7559
*National Institutes of Health Platelet Center, Bethesda:  301-496-4321
*Walter Reed Army Medical Center: 202-782-3113 or 202-782-4156
*Washington Hospital Center: 202-877-5250
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