I’ve been here at Incept for nearly a year, and in that time I’ve learned a lot about blood, blood centers and donating blood.
Sure, I’d been a donor long before I started working here, but there are a lot of interesting things that go on behind the scenes that the everyday donor doesn’t get to see. One of the first things I learned on the job is that there’s more than one way to give blood.
Whole blood donations are the most common type of blood donation. All of the parts of the blood are collected and given to the patient. This type of donation takes about an hour, if you count the time it takes to fill out the paperwork, get a mini physical and answer a few painless health-related questions. The actual donation itself usually only takes about 10-15 minuets and is much easier than you might think.
You must be in good health that day and, in most states, you need to weigh at least 110 lbs. if you’re over the age of 17 (120 lbs. if you’re 16 and have a parent’s permission). A pint of blood is collected, which the body replenishes in about 56 days (or eight weeks). If you’re able to, donating every two months is a great thing to do. Not only are you helping someone in need, but you’ll be getting regular mini-checkups from the blood center!
- Apheresis
The apheresis machine may look scary, but it's not nearly as difficult as you might think!
The second type of donation can actually be broken down into three separate parts. With an apheresis donation, the blood is collected by a machine which breaks it down into separate components. An apheresis donation does tend to take a little longer, but it is a huge help. By using the apheresis machine, the phlebotomists are able to collect either red blood cells, plasma or platelets. Each part of the blood has its own use:
1.) Red Blood Cells - An apheresis donation, where the red blood cells are collected, is called a double red cell donation or an ALYX donation. With this donation, twice the number of red cells are collected from the donor in one donation, and the plasma and platelets are returned to the body. It’s just as safe as a whole blood donation, but usually you should wait about 16 weeks before donating again. Another difference is that a saline solution is also added to help the donor feel more comfortable and better hydrated after the donation. The machine needs a smaller needle than the one that’s used for other types of blood donations, so that’s a comfort for a lot of donors who aren’t as comfortable with needles. In most states, donors need to be at least 5′1″ tall and 130 lbs. or more for males or 5′5″ and 150 lbs. for females. Donating double red cells is very important, since they are the component used most often in emergency room situations.
2.) Plasma - Plasma donations are just as important as double reds, but help in many different ways. Patients who have severe burns, animal bites or have gone into shock are often in need of plasma to help them recover. Like with a double red cell donation, plasma is collected by an apheresis machine, while the other components of the blood are given back to the donor. It takes about 20 million liters of plasma a year worldwide to help patients who are in need of plasma transfusions. You should weigh at least 110 lbs. if you’re over the age of 17 (again, 120 lbs. if you’re 16 and have a parent’s permission). Plasma can be donated twice a week, as long as you’re feeling well enough to do it.
3.) Platelets - The third component collected via an apheresis donation is platelets. Platelets are the part of the blood that helps it clot and seal wounds. Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and people getting organ transplants need a lot of platelets to help them recover. You can donate platelets every two weeks and, like plasma donors, you need to be at least 110 lbs. to donate platelets in most cases.
There are a lot of ways you can help out someone in need. After all, only about 5% of the people able to donate actually do. So why not stop on by and donate? You’ll be glad you did.
Photo Credit:
http://homeworkteam71.wikispaces.com/Science+with+Mr.+Mullett
http://joinjerry2010.blogspot.com/2010/06/magic-apheresis-machine.html
http://www.virtuousplanet.com/bbdesigns/c00000000228
When I speak with blood donors, as a Conversational Marketing Expert for Incept, some of them ask if they can sell their plasma instead of donating it.
It’s understandable -especially considering the current economy – that people would rather get money for their time instead of simply donating. It’s a source of quick cash; you can give plasma as often as twice a week, if you’re healthy enough; and depending on where you donate, you can get an average of $120 – $240 per month.
And plasma is certainly needed in the medical field. There are over 400 for-profit plasma collection centers in the United States. Scientists and pharmaceutical companies use the collections to experiment with protein therapies.
But consider this: donations are in shorter supply than for-profit plasma. While plasma is being sold, people are in hospitals waiting for the donations. It’s important to come up with new medicines but not at the expense of current patients. What’s more important: helping to save up to three lives with a blood donation or buying that new DVD?
Do you know anyone whose life was saved by a plasma donation?
Photo Credit: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8059247.stm
If you’ve ever needed to receive blood, you know that getting the right type is very
important. You may also know that there are 8 different blood types (O+, O-, A+, A-, B+, B-, AB+ and AB-), but what is it exactly that makes blood one type or another?
While all blood contains red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma and platelets, the type of antigen the blood has determines its type. Antigens are sugars or proteins that make the body’s immune system act a certain way. Antigens found in the body’s own cells are called “self-antigens,” and the immune system does not usually attack them. If an outside antigen gets into the body, however, white blood cells will attempt to destroy it.
There are two main blood groups: ABO and Rh. In ABO blood groups, the antigen is a sugar that dictates which letter your blood type falls into (A, B, AB, or O).
- AB blood types have both A and B antigens on red cells.
- A blood types have only the A antigen on the red cells.
- B blood types have only the B antigen on the red cells.
- O blood types have neither A or B antigens on the red cells.
The second group – the Rh group – is determined by either the presence or absence of a protein antigen called the D antigen. Whether or not you have this antigen determines if you have a positive or negative blood type.
What happens, though, if you receive the wrong blood type?
While the chances of that happening in a hospital are very rare, getting the wrong blood type transfused can be fatal. The immune system of the person receiving the transfusion will attack the donor’s blood, frequently causing the body to go into shock. Symptoms of a transfusion reaction are flu-like: chills, fever, shaking, headache, chest or back pain, and body aches are the most common. Usually, the symptoms show up during the transfusion, but sometimes it can take several days.
By donating blood, you can help ensure there is enough blood available at hospitals for those who need it. It’s also a great way to find out your own blood type! So stop by a blood drive or blood center and help your local hospitals. Who knows? You may end up saving the life of someone you know.
Photo Credit:
http://www.facebook.com/delmarvabloodbank
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/imagepages/9125.htm
http://www.sean-tucker.com/Inspiration___Charity.html
When I speak with blood donors, as a Conversational Marketing Expert (CME) at Incept, I tell them that their blood donation can potentially save not just one life, but three!
What a motivating statistic! When you give blood, you can help save the life of a teenager injured in a car accident, a mom battling breast cancer and a firefighter suffering from severe burns. But how is that possible? How is one pint of blood capable of saving three different people?
Human blood can be separated into three main components for transfusion: red cells, platelets and plasma. When you give a whole blood donation, you’re giving all three components. After the blood is tested, the blood components are separated, and when patients receive a blood transfusion, they receive a certain number of units (depending on their condition). According to www.bloodbook.com, the average liver transplant requires 40 units of red blood cells and 30 units of platelets.
When you donate whole blood, about 45% of that donation is red blood cells, roughly 55% is plasma and less than 1% is platelets. Because some donors aren’t able to give the same amount of blood as others – and because there are other fluids in the blood that also make up the volume – it is difficult to standardize how many donations equal one unit of transfusional blood.
Generally speaking, though, to obtain one unit of transfusional red cells, you need that component from two whole blood donations. So those 40 units of red cells used in a liver transplant could have come from 80 different people, all pitching in to save one life (and all the same blood type, of course). Several whole blood components of platelets are needed to equal one dose, but a single aphresis (platelets only) donation yields the same amount. One unit of platelets for the liver transplant could have come from one person electing for an aphresis donation or as many as five or six whole blood donors. So as many as 180 donors (30 units multiplied by 6 donors) may have contributed to the platelets needed for the liver transplant.
When you donate whole blood, your red cells go to a trauma victim, your platelets to a cancer patient and your plasma to a burn victim. Three lives from one pint of blood, and one of those lives could be someone you love!
What type of blood donation do you give? Whole blood? Red cells? Platelets? Plasma?
MAKE the time to donate blood!
At Incept, “I’m too busy to give blood” is probably the most common reason us Conversational Marketing Experts (CMEs) hear when we’re recruiting donors.
We’re all busy! We have to work, take one kid to a soccer game and another to band practice, fix meals, clean, go to church, pay bills, watch the latest episode of American Idol and, at some point, get a good night’s sleep. Nobody really has the time to donate blood. The trick is to make the time. We all have to decide the best ways to use our time and energy, and donating blood should be on that list of priorities.
You can donate whole blood every 8 weeks (56 days) and red cells every 16 weeks (112 days). It only takes an hour to go through the process of donating whole blood, including refreshments at the end. That’s 1 hour every 8 weeks; 1 hour out of 1,344! How do we prioritize? How do we set aside time to do what’s important? Could you order pizza one night and pick it up on your way home after you give blood? Could the grass in the yard stay long for just one more day? Could you miss one episode of American Idol to save three lives?
If you’re a multitasker like me and it drives you nuts to just sit there while you’re donating, there are many one-handed things that you can do:
- Plan what to make for dinner.
- Send a text to that friend you keep meaning to have coffee with.
- Read a magazine. Bring your own or you’ll get stuck with whatever the hospital has, which will most likely to be a Reader’s Digest from 5 years ago!
- Read a newspaper.
- Read a book. Not the Twilight series, though! Save that for when you’re not leaking blood!
- If there’s a TV in the donor coach or hospital, you can watch something distracting, like whatever is on Comedy Central.
- Sudoku!
- Listen to that new album you downloaded onto your iPod.
- Update your to-do list. You can scratch off “donate blood!”
- Outline your next blog entry! That’s what I did yesterday while I was donating platelets at Aultman Hospital. Platelets take a little longer than whole blood, sometimes up to two hours. You can also donate platelets more often than whole blood or red cells!
I was watching "The Daily Show" and mentally outlining this blog entry while I was donating platelets!
Donating blood, like anything else that’s important, requires a commitment. You have to make it a priority or it will never get done. I know that for me, personally, unless someone else reminds me why something is important – whether it’s giving blood, cleaning my apartment or sending my mom a birthday card – I forget to do it. That’s what Conversational Marketing Experts do at Incept: we remind a blood donor that it’s time to donate again and facilitate the setup of an appointment. It’s easy to forget if you don’t get that phone call!
What could you give up once every 8 weeks in order to donate blood?
From left to right: red cell, platelet, white cell
Your blood is made up of many components, the most important being red cells, white cells, plasma and platelets. Thanks to blood, oxygen and nutrients are circulated, the body temperature and immune system are regulated, and we have bestselling books about attractive vampires feeding on young girls. But what exactly do platelets contribute?
- Platelets help to clot wounds.
- They release proteins that fight infections.
- Platelets “stimulate” the immune system.
- They’re smaller than red cells (about 1/3 of the size).
- Platelets have a shelf life of 5 days. Donations from several people are needed to come up with one unit to transfuse.
- There is no DNA in a platelet.
- Platelets help other cells grow and divide.
- Aspirin can disrupt platelet functions, specifically blood clotting.
- A normal platelet count is 150,000 – 350,000 per microlitre of blood.
- Platelets are produced by stem cells in the bone marrow.
Donate platelets to help patients who have had a stroke, cancer, coronary artery disease and other disorders. Donate today!
Does knowing exactly what these platelets do (for the human body) motivate you to donate?
