Platelets
Most of what I do isn't particularly socially useful, but I do have a long track record of donating blood. So far I've donated eight+ gallons of whole blood, and I have no intention of stopping any time soon.
Two years ago the mailings I received from the Red Cross took a new tone. Instead of the usual "here are some upcoming blood drives" I started getting "please give platelets." They do tests on a small portion of every blood donation to screen for diseases and other potential issues. One of those tests is for platelets, and apparently my blood tests off-the-charts for platelets. I mean that quite literally; they actually called me to personally appeal to have me donate platelets, and the gentleman on the phone said I had the highest platelet count that they had seen in years. This may explain why I never (ok, rarely) get sick, as platelets apparently play a role in that.
I was happy to consider donating, but platelets are a lot more complicated to donate than whole blood. The bloodmobile won't cut it; you have to go to one of a very few area blood centers. In addition, it takes a lot more time. You have to be hooked up to a machine that spins the platelets out of your blood and then returns the remainder of the blood to your body. Because of these limitations I was not able to donate platelets easily, as the number of days where I have 2-3 hours free to drive downtown to the closest blood center is small.
On the last Sunday in June, that finally changed. I scheduled an early morning appointment with the intent of donating and then heading straight to the radio station. For once, everything went off without a hitch. Within minutes of my scheduled appointment I was in the chair getting hooked up. 3 hours later I was on my radio do my radio show.
What happened during the interim?
- they run a medical history, just as with a regular donation.
- you get comfortable in a chair and get needled, just as with a regular donation.
- you get very cold. This is because the blood comes out of your body at 98.6. It goes into a big machine and is spun to remove the platelets. It then comes back into your body via the same needle (the device controls whether or not it is removing blood or returning blood through the tube). The caveat is that your blood cools off while it is being processed so it comes back in at a lower temperature, and you get cold. Even I, who never get cold, got cold. The room was already aggressively air conditioned, so I and the other donors were swathed in blankets.
- you have to hold your arm in place. This is normal for blood donations anyway, but typically I am finished giving whole blood in 5 minutes flat, so holding my arm steady isn't a big deal. If you have to hold your arm in place for 2.5 hours, it can start to get wearing.
On the plus side, most of the fluid in the blood is returned to your body, so the worst side effects of donating blood are largely mitigated. You still don't want to go run a 5K afterwords, but I didn't feel particularly exhausted or woozy during the day. I slept better that night, but that's about it.
In theory you can donate platelets every two weeks. Given that the time constraints are still present I may try for once a month on a Sunday before my show. Getting up early won't kill me (or at least it hasn't yet). I'll continue to prioritize whole blood donations, although I missed yesterday's office blood drive (my usual donation location) due to ultimate being that night.
Two years ago the mailings I received from the Red Cross took a new tone. Instead of the usual "here are some upcoming blood drives" I started getting "please give platelets." They do tests on a small portion of every blood donation to screen for diseases and other potential issues. One of those tests is for platelets, and apparently my blood tests off-the-charts for platelets. I mean that quite literally; they actually called me to personally appeal to have me donate platelets, and the gentleman on the phone said I had the highest platelet count that they had seen in years. This may explain why I never (ok, rarely) get sick, as platelets apparently play a role in that.
I was happy to consider donating, but platelets are a lot more complicated to donate than whole blood. The bloodmobile won't cut it; you have to go to one of a very few area blood centers. In addition, it takes a lot more time. You have to be hooked up to a machine that spins the platelets out of your blood and then returns the remainder of the blood to your body. Because of these limitations I was not able to donate platelets easily, as the number of days where I have 2-3 hours free to drive downtown to the closest blood center is small.
On the last Sunday in June, that finally changed. I scheduled an early morning appointment with the intent of donating and then heading straight to the radio station. For once, everything went off without a hitch. Within minutes of my scheduled appointment I was in the chair getting hooked up. 3 hours later I was on my radio do my radio show.
What happened during the interim?
- they run a medical history, just as with a regular donation.
- you get comfortable in a chair and get needled, just as with a regular donation.
- you get very cold. This is because the blood comes out of your body at 98.6. It goes into a big machine and is spun to remove the platelets. It then comes back into your body via the same needle (the device controls whether or not it is removing blood or returning blood through the tube). The caveat is that your blood cools off while it is being processed so it comes back in at a lower temperature, and you get cold. Even I, who never get cold, got cold. The room was already aggressively air conditioned, so I and the other donors were swathed in blankets.
- you have to hold your arm in place. This is normal for blood donations anyway, but typically I am finished giving whole blood in 5 minutes flat, so holding my arm steady isn't a big deal. If you have to hold your arm in place for 2.5 hours, it can start to get wearing.
On the plus side, most of the fluid in the blood is returned to your body, so the worst side effects of donating blood are largely mitigated. You still don't want to go run a 5K afterwords, but I didn't feel particularly exhausted or woozy during the day. I slept better that night, but that's about it.
In theory you can donate platelets every two weeks. Given that the time constraints are still present I may try for once a month on a Sunday before my show. Getting up early won't kill me (or at least it hasn't yet). I'll continue to prioritize whole blood donations, although I missed yesterday's office blood drive (my usual donation location) due to ultimate being that night.