Carrying on from the topic of blood donation I will move onto platelet donation. The method used of taking the platelets out of the blood is called plateletpheresis. This term derives from apheresis which "involves removing whole blood from the donor and separating the blood into individual components" (http://www.medicinenet.com/hemapheresis/article.htm), in plateletpheresis it is the removal of platelets from the blood and then pumping the blood back into the body.
All types of apheresis involve "connecting the blood in the patient/donor's veins through tubing to a machine that separates the blood components, separation is done by either a centrifuge process or a filtration process" (http://www.medicinenet.com/hemapheresis/page2.htm). Once the components have been removed the blood is directed back into the body via another blood vessel.
But although it sounds all well and good to donate platelets, what are they needed for? Platelets are a part of the blood that assist in blood clotting by coming together and forming a platelet plug. The platelets that are taken from the donors are given to those who are "unable to make enough platelets in their bone marrow" (http://www.blood.co.uk/platelets/). This could be because of a "disease such as leukaemia or other cancers or the treatments they have had" (http://www.blood.co.uk/platelets/). However, the donors are able to make enough platelets to replenish the ones that have been taken "(only 20% taken) very quickly" (http://www.westred.org/BldAphr.htm).
The issue with platelet donation is that unlike blood, "they can be stored for only a few days" (http://www.blood.co.uk/platelets/about/). This means that there need to be frequent platelet donations to keep stocks up.
This clip on YouTube shows the process of donating plasma, which as I said earlier is the same as donating platelets but extracting a different component of the blood, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDsdY8-_lCo).
All types of apheresis involve "connecting the blood in the patient/donor's veins through tubing to a machine that separates the blood components, separation is done by either a centrifuge process or a filtration process" (http://www.medicinenet.com/hemapheresis/page2.htm). Once the components have been removed the blood is directed back into the body via another blood vessel.
But although it sounds all well and good to donate platelets, what are they needed for? Platelets are a part of the blood that assist in blood clotting by coming together and forming a platelet plug. The platelets that are taken from the donors are given to those who are "unable to make enough platelets in their bone marrow" (http://www.blood.co.uk/platelets/). This could be because of a "disease such as leukaemia or other cancers or the treatments they have had" (http://www.blood.co.uk/platelets/). However, the donors are able to make enough platelets to replenish the ones that have been taken "(only 20% taken) very quickly" (http://www.westred.org/BldAphr.htm).
The issue with platelet donation is that unlike blood, "they can be stored for only a few days" (http://www.blood.co.uk/platelets/about/). This means that there need to be frequent platelet donations to keep stocks up.
This clip on YouTube shows the process of donating plasma, which as I said earlier is the same as donating platelets but extracting a different component of the blood, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDsdY8-_lCo).
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