What is apheresis blood collection? Apheresis blood collection, or ABC, is a special kind of blood donation. Instead of giving one pint of whole blood (as in a regular donation), an ABC donor gives only the components of blood needed for patients that day. ABC is made possible by an amazing machine that separates the…
What are platelets used for? Platelets, which come from bone marrow, help to induce clotting and control bleeding. Patients who have been treated for leukemia with chemotherapy, for example, will often need to be transfused platelets. What is the process of donating platelets? During a platelet donation, we will collect one, two, or three units...
What is plasma used for? Much like platelets, plasma helps to induce clotting and control bleeding. However, it does this through different mechanisms and many of the clotting factors found in plasma are made from the liver. Therefore, although both plasma and platelets both help to control bleeding, they are sometimes used for different patient...
What is a SuperRed donation? This type of donation used to be called a double red blood cell donation. During a SuperRed donation, a machine is used to withdraw whole blood. Red cells are separated and retained, and the remainder of the blood is returned back to the donor. This donation safely removes twice as…
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The Many Uses of Plasma
While plasma had been transfused as part of whole blood for hundreds of years, the specific value of plasma became acutely clear as a result of the devastating violence of WWII. Though plasma could not replace lost red cells and platelets, plasma and its related products were far easier to transport than whole blood (which was particularly important in battle zones) and was not only necessary for treating shock, but it was also found to help tide over the critically wounded soldiers and civilians until additional blood products became available.[1] A huge investment in plasma — both in terms of…
Purple for Platelets: Supporting Patients With Platelet Disorders
Friday, September 24 is Sport Purple for Platelets Day. This national holiday, created by the Platelet Disorder Support Association, is designed to raise awareness for those living with platelet disorders. Platelets are a type of blood cell created in bone marrow that support blood clotting. For this reason, platelet transfusions are commonly required when patients experience massive blood loss, such as in traumatic accidents or in major surgeries like organ transplants. They are also often required for chemotherapy patients since chemotherapy treatment tends to reduce platelet counts. Though anyone being asked to donate platelets has likely heard that platelets benefit...
SBC Makes History and Enhances Platelet Safety by Going 100% PRT
By Harry Sussmann, Operational Excellence (OpEx) Director On April 28, Stanford Blood Center became the first blood center of its size in the nation to use pathogen reduction technology, or PRT, on 100% of its transfusable platelets produced. With this milestone, SBC is ensuring that the platelet units our donors generously provide are as safe as possible for any patient who may need them. So, what is PRT? PRT is a complex method of sterilizing platelet products before they are sent off to patients. While all platelets go through in-depth testing processes that screen for any major pathogens that could…
Platelet Donation 301 — Platelets and HLA Typing
Most of you probably know that when you donate blood products, they test for your blood type (A-positive, O-negative, etc.). But you might not know that when you donate platelets, they test for an additional type — your HLA type. HLA stands for Human Leukocyte Antigen. These antigens are found on most organs and tissues in the body, as well as on lymphocytes and platelets. At Stanford Blood Center (SBC), platelet donations are tested for each donor’s specific HLA type. While the majority of patients can receive platelets with any HLA type, it is possible for a patient’s body to…
Diaries of a Platelet Donor
In 1989, I was the victim of a serious motorcycle accident. My left leg and hip were seriously injured – I suffered from a broken hip socket, compound fractures of my tibia and fibula, and other issues. I spent a miserable month in the hospital before having to learn to walk again. Through all of this, I was fortunate to have family and friends help me through six months of rehabilitation before I was finally able to return to work. By 2008, my hip repair had deteriorated, as predicted by doctors, and I was referred to Stanford Health Care for…
Platelet Donation 201 — Platelet Donation, Pregnancy and TRALI
Welcome back! As discussed in last week’s blog, Platelet Donation 101, those who have been previously pregnant will need to be tested for HLA antibodies (a simple tube draw that can be performed during a regular whole blood donation) and test negative in order to donate platelets and plasma to reduce risk of TRALI. But what exactly is TRALI, and what does pregnancy have to do with it? Platelet donation, pregnancy, and TRALI explained. TRALI is an acronym meaning transfusion-related acute lung injury. It is a rare syndrome causing the lungs to begin to fail within the first six hours…
Platelet Donation 101
As some of you may already know (and some of you may not!), you can actually donate more than one type of blood product. When you think about blood donation, most people probably first think of whole blood (when a person gives one pint of their blood). But another equally important type of donation is platelet donation. Platelets, which come from the bone marrow, help to induce clotting and control bleeding. Patients who have been treated for leukemia with chemotherapy, for example, will often need to transfused with platelets. Here are a couple other fun facts about platelets: Platelets are…
Should You Be Donating Platelets?
When most people think about making an appointment at Stanford Blood Center (SBC), they think of coming in to donate whole blood, the most common type of donation. Less common, but needed just as much, is platelet donation through apheresis blood collection (ABC). What are platelets? Platelets are blood cells that help stop bleeding. And while a whole-blood donation can be broken into components, one of which is platelets, for patient usage, a unit from apheresis platelet donation can yield approximately six times the number of platelets compared to whole-blood-derived platelet donations. It has also been shown that apheresis platelet…
