Blood Platelet
If you are a whole-blood donor, you know that blood transfusions save lives. But do you how important platelet transfusions are? Do you know about apheresis (a-fur-ee-sis)? Take this platelet I.Q. quiz! Be sure to check the answers and explanations to see how well you do.
1. When you donate a unit of blood, it is usually split into several parts — red blood cells, platelets, plasma — to be given to different patients.
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Just one pint of your blood can help save the lives of several patients.
2. Platelets make up the part of your blood that carries oxygen.
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Platelets are tiny cells that promote blood clotting and prevent uncontrolled bleeding. A healthy person makes platelets in his or her bone marrow. Some severely ill patients — a child having a bone-marrow transplant or an adult undergoing chemotherapy for cancer — do not have enough platelets to prevent severe bleeding.
3. Apheresis is the method used to collect only one part of blood from a donor.
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Apheresis is the method used to collect one product from your blood. Here's how it works: You sit in a comfortable chair next to the blood-separating machine. You feel needle sticks when one needle is inserted in each arm. Your blood then flows through sterile, disposable collection tubing in the machine. The machine separates and collects your platelets and immediately returns the remaining blood to you. No more than one pint of your blood leaves your body at a time. And your body replaces the donated platelets within 24 hours.
4. One platelet donation by apheresis can yield up to six times the amount of platelets found in one whole-blood donation.
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One platelet donor does the work of up to six whole-blood donors. The platelets from between four and six whole-blood donors must be pooled to obtain enough platelets for one platelet transfusion.
5. You cannot get AIDS or any other disease from donating platelets.
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Modern technology prevents the transmission of disease during donation. Your blood stays inside the sterile, disposable collection tubing at all times. The needle and tubing are used once and then thrown away.
6. Platelet transfusions are life-saving therapy for patients undergoing bone-marrow transplants, chemotherapy treatment for cancer, and open heart surgery.
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Many effective medical treatments are dependent on platelet transfusion. About 40 percent of these patients are under age 20.
7. Donated platelets can be used years later.
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Donated platelets must be transfused within five days while they are still strong enough to clot blood.
8. Platelet donors must wait six months before donating again.
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Your body replaces platelets very rapidly. You must wait at least 2 days between donations. Some blood banks require longer waiting periods and limit the total number of donations per year.
9. Donating platelets takes longer than donating whole blood.
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Donating platelets by apheresis takes a little longer — about two hours. You can make an appointment at a convenient time to fit your schedule and often are able to watch TV or a movie while you donate.
10. A bone-marrow transplant patient may need up to 200 platelet transfusions.
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These people may need numerous platelet transfusion until their new bone marrow starts to make platelets for them. With only whole-blood donations to rely upon, these platelet transfusions for bone-marrow transplant patients would be almost impossible because about 1,000 whole-blood donations would be needed. Your platelet donations are truly a gift of life.
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