Donating Platelets

Due to a shortage of platelets at Childrens Hospital, we encourage you to donate platelets as frequently as possible. Platelets have a shelf life of only 5 days, so their supply needs to be replenished constantly.

Donating Platelets
Patients suffering from leukemia, aplastic anemia or a bone marrow disease require special blood products, such as platelets or white blood cells.

In an apheresis procedure, your blood is separated to extract only the needed component. Because of the special process involved, the blood donation procedure takes approximately two hours.

What are Platelets?
Platelets are blood cells that help control bleeding. When a blood vessel is damaged, platelets collect at the site of the injury and temporarily repair the tear. Platelets then activate substances in plasma which form a clot and allow the wound to heal.

Who Needs Platelets?
Patients receiving chemotherapy and/or radiation treatment and those who are having a Bone Marrow Transplant, have especially low platelet counts and can bleed very easily. Platelet donations are in great demand by children undergoing these processes.

Because platelets can be stored for only five days, the need for platelet donations is vast and continuous.

What is Apheresis?
Apheresis (ay-fur-ee-sis) is a special kind of blood donation that allows a donor to give specific blood components, such as platelets. During the apheresis procedure, all but the needed blood component are returned to the donor.

Why is Blood Separated?
Different patients need different types of blood components, depending on their illness or injury. After you donate whole blood, the unit is separated into platelets, red cells and plasma in our laboratory. Only two tablespoons of platelets are collected from a whole blood donation. Six whole blood donations must be separated and pooled to provide a single platelet transfusion. However, one apheresis donation provides enough platelets for one complete transfusion — that’s six times the amount collected from a whole blood donation.

How Do Individuals Donate Platelets?
Because platelet donation involves separating cells from the blood, the collection procedure takes approximately two hours. The blood will flow from one arm to the collection instrument. There, the platelets will be removed from the blood and returned to the donor via the other arm (or the same arm). The process takes place in a sterile environment.

Who Needs Platelets?
Many lifesaving medical treatments require platelet transfusions. Cancer patients, those receiving organ or bone marrow transplants, victims of traumatic injuries, and patients undergoing open heart surgery require platelet transfusions to survive.

Who Can be an Apheresis Donor?
If you meet the requirements for donating blood, you probably can give platelets. Apheresis donors must:

• be at least 18 years old
• be in good health
• weigh at least 110 pounds
• not have taken aspirin, products containing aspirin, or other anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, 48 hours prior to donation. These drugs greatly weaken the effectiveness of platelets and therefore of platelet transfusions.

Does Blood Type Matter?
Since there are no red blood cells in a platelet product, we are not limited to using the same donor blood types as with red cells.

Are Apheresis Donations Safe?
Yes. Each donation is closely supervised throughout the procedure by trained staff. A small percentage of your platelets are collected, so there is no risk of bleeding problems. Your body will replace the donated platelets within 72 hours. The donation equipment (needle, tubing, collection bags) are sterile and discarded after every donation, making it virtually impossible to contract a disease from the process.

How Does the Procedure Work?
During an apheresis donation, blood is drawn from your arm into an automated cell separator. Inside a sterile kit within the machine, your blood is spun and platelets are removed. Your remaining blood components are then returned through your arm.

How Long Does it Take?
Depending on your weight and height, the apheresis donation process will take approximately 70 minutes to two hours.

Make an Appointment Today!
Due to the time constraints for platelet donations, we require platelet donors to schedule their appointments. Please contact Raul Gonzalez at 323-361-2441 to make an appointment.

(Information on this page compiled from Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and Puget Sound Blood Center.)