PLATELETS:  A GIFT OF TIME

    Platelet donations take about two hours.  Blood is drawn from your arm, by a specially trained Red Cross nurse, and sent through clean sterile tubing housed in a separating machine.  The machine spins the blood to separate platelets from other components such as red blood cells and plasma.  The platelets are collected and the remaining components are returned to the donor.

    State-of-the-art equipment allows the Red Cross to perform split products - two platelet donations from one donor.  This efficient procedure enables the Red Cross to collect twice the product in the same amount of time. 

    With new technology, the Red Cross is also able to draw plasma while collecting platelets from a donor in the same amount of time.  The concurrent plasma is needed for burn patients.

    Anyone 17 years of age or older and in good health is eligible to donate platelets.  Donors must meet medical requirements and answer health-related questions.  The health screening process is the same as with whole blood donors.  Whenever patients need specific blood components, apheresis donors are contacted for an appointment.

    Your body replaces the donated platelets very quickly, within 24 hours, so you can donate platelets more frequently than whole blood.  You must wait 2 days between platelet donations, but the frequency of donations is your decision.  You can continue to donate whole blood even though you are a platelet donor.

APHERESIS HOURS:

Come by our donor center at 5015 Woods Crossing any of the times listed below to give the special gift of life.