Make the Leap From Blood Donor to Platelet Donor

Why donate platelets instead of whole blood?

Not long after I started this blog, I encouraged readers to donate blood. I stand by that post. If you are able to donate blood, it is a relatively easy and very important way to make a difference.

But if you’re already a blood donor, consider moving from whole blood to platelet donations.

Why?

• A platelet donation provides several times more platelets than a whole blood donation — an important benefit for people who particularly need platelets, including cancer patients and people who have experienced serious injuries.
• Platelet donors can donate up to 24 times per year. Whole blood donors have to wait 56 days between appointments.
• Platelets have a very short shelf life (only five days, versus 35 days for whole blood), so there is a constant need for them.
• While the American Red Cross only lets you donate plasma 13 times a year, you can sometimes combine your platelet donation with a plasma donation.

What’s donating like?

If you haven’t donated platelets but are open to considering it, my story may help you make the leap. I’m giving you the unvarnished truth, because I think it’s important for you to know all of the pros and cons before you make the decision to donate.

The Red Cross calls…

Whenever I gave blood at my local American Red Cross blood donation center, I had noticed the platelet donors across the room. These people, covered in blankets and watching television, seemed so much more committed than I was. I wondered what it would be like give a platelet donation, but it always seemed like such a big step.

Then, mere weeks after I gave a blood donation in late February, I got a call from the Red Cross. My first thought was, “Oh, no! They’ve detected the coronavirus in my blood sample.” When, instead, they told me they were calling to see if I could make a platelet donation, I said, “Oh, but I just gave blood.”

They informed me that I could donate platelets soon after a blood donation, and before I knew what I was doing, I’d made an appointment.

My first donation

My first donation didn’t go smoothly, though it wasn’t horrible. Most platelet donors give from one arm and get most of the components of their blood back in the other arm. First a needle is inserted into your “receiving” arm, and they start giving you saline fluid. The person who got me started may have been new. Whatever the reason, she picked my left arm, which I normally don’t use for donating blood, to be my “receiving” arm. Every time she started the saline up, I complained that it was stinging. She brought in a more experienced person who switched my receiving arm. That put an end to the stinging, but I had a nasty bruise. The staff also put a heating pad on that arm, which factored into a later difficulty.

For some time after the donation started, I was fine. But after a while, my lips started to tingle. This is a common reaction to a citrate solution that you receive as you get your blood back. Calcium can fix the problem, so they gave me Tums. Later my left arm started to cramp. I wanted to move it, but the heating pad made it impossible. Not long after that started bothering me, I felt the need to go to the bathroom. I toughed it out as long as I could, but in the end the discomfort got to the point where we ended my donation about 10 minutes early.

All in all, it wasn’t a great beginning, but that didn’t discourage me from wanting to try again. I didn’t have any serious issues; I just experienced some physical discomfort. When I described the experience to members of a Facebook group for platelet donors, I got some good advice (which I’ll share below) and was ready to give it another go.

My second and third attempts

Feeling ready to set up a second appointment, I called the American Red Cross, left a message, and, after they called me back a day or two later, was scheduled to donate again.

When I showed up for my appointment, they scanned my forehead with an infrared thermometer (something the Red Cross has put into place due to the pandemic). They told me my temperature was too high (99.6) and sent me home. At home I took my temperature with an oral thermometer, got a completely normal result (98.6), and felt thoroughly disgruntled. The folks in the platelet donor group suggested blasting the air conditioner on my car on the way there and requesting an oral thermometer if I was told my temperature was too high again.

I scheduled another appointment. This time they took my temperature first with the infrared scanner and then with an oral thermometer. I didn’t even have to ask. I passed that hurdle and figured I was home free. Alas. My hemoglobin was too low, which does happen to me sometimes, and I was sent home again. When the Red Cross called me for yet another appointment, I crossed my fingers, scheduled the appointment, and… was allowed to donate!

Success!

My second donation was much better. I was hooked up again to give from my left arm and receive blood back in my right arm. There was very little bruising. I had loaded up on calcium prior to the donation, and while my lips still tingled a little and I accepted Tums when they were offered to me partway through the process, I found I was much more comfortable than I had been the first time. There was no heating pad on either of my arms, so when I found my left arm was getting a little uncomfortable again, I was able to shift it just enough to be okay. And I went to the bathroom just before climbing into the donation chair, so we didn’t have to end the donation early!

After two successful attempts, do I find donating platelets as easy as donating blood? No. But it’s not a bad experience, and it’s rewarding to know that I’m making a difference. Plus I get to watch TV for a couple of hours and have a snack afterwards. It’s the little things.

Here’s what to expect, step-by-step

Some of the information I share here is specific to the pandemic, but most of it is not.

Before your appointment

Before your appointment, you will receive an email message with an invitation to use Rapid Pass. I encourage you to do it if at all possible. Rapid Pass will speed up your time in the donation center. You will be asked to review some pre-donation information, including eligibility criteria. You then will be asked a series of questions that are used to determine your eligibility. Once you have completed the required reading and the questionnaire (which doesn’t take long), you can send a bar code to your phone or print it out to take into the donation center.

First steps at the donation center

When you arrive at the blood donation center, you will need to wear a mask. You will be greeted just inside the door by a volunteer who will take your temperature. If you pass that hurdle, they will confirm your appointment. It helps to have a blood donor card that they can scan. If you need to type anything into one of their computers, they will ask you to sanitize your hands first. I automatically use the hand sanitizer anyway as soon as I’ve entered the building.

Once your appointment is confirmed, you will be sent to a waiting area with chairs that are six feet apart.

Someone will call you and usher you into a small room. They may weigh you (this happened for the first time at my most recent appointment). They will confirm your name, date of birth, and address. They’ll take your pulse and blood pressure and then will stick your finger and check your hemoglobin level. They will ask to see the insides of your arms. If you pass all of these hurdles, they will ask if you have a Rapid Pass. If you do, they may ask you a question to clarify something, and then you will read a consent form, sign it, and be ready to donate. They may ask you if you are willing to donate a unit of plasma along with your platelets. I gave plasma during my second donation and didn’t make the slightest difference in my experience.

The donation

Be sure to take advantage of the opportunity to use the facilities before you get hooked up.

Once you are settled into your donation chair, they will make sure you are comfortable, help you get set up to watch something (our donation center has a bunch of DVDs as well as Netflix and some other streaming options), and then insert the needles: first the one in your receiving arm, and then the one in your giving arm. They’ll take blood samples for testing, and then your donation will begin.

You will sit for a long time. I made it through almost two one-hour episodes of The Witcher. Someone will occasionally stop by to see if you are warm enough and if you need Tums. Of course, if you have another need (like the need to shift an arm pinned down by a heating pad), that’s the time to speak up.

After the donation

At the end of your donation, they will take the needles out one at a time, placing a cotton ball and tape over the needle site, and then putting a wrap over that. They will instruct you to remove the wrap bandage in an hour and to clean your arm with soap and water. You should keep the cotton ball and tape on for about six more hours. I’ve found that sometimes when I remove that after the six hours are up, I ooze just a little blood, so I have a small bandage ready in case that happens.

You will be encouraged to sit in the canteen for a while and have a snack before going home. My donation center has spaced tables and chairs at least six feet apart for the time being.

My last donation took approximately two hours and 15 minutes from the time I stepped through the door to the time I walked out of the canteen.

Make your donation easier with these tips and tricks

• If you tend to have low hemoglobin levels, take supplements and eat high-iron foods prior to your donation. This can make a difference between a successful donation and being turned away.
• Load up on calcium before the appointment. Platelet donors on Facebook advised me to start taking Tums a few days before the donation, including just before I left home to donate, and to have a milkshake the night before. (What a great excuse for a milkshake!) Unfortunately, calcium hinders iron-absorption, so don’t take iron with calcium or have your milkshake with a hamburger.
• Milkshake aside, make sure you are having relatively low-fat meals at least a day prior to your donation. Fats can mess up the results of tests that are run on your blood, making your donation unusable.
• Drink plenty of fluids before and after your donation, but stop drinking fluids two hours before the donation, and don’t have any caffeinated beverages the morning of your donation.
• Check to see if you need to bring a blanket. My local donation center has told me that they are limiting blankets to one per person, although last time they put two heated blankets on me — one on each arm — in addition to my own blanket.
• Your donation center should have sterilized headphones for you, but if you’d prefer to bring your own, don’t forget to pack those.
• Dress warmly. I admit I run cold, but most people seem to get chilly when lying around for nearly two hours donating.
• Speak up if you’re uncomfortable. If I’d mentioned my arm cramps during my first appointment, someone could have helped me.
• Plan not to do any heavy lifting after your donation. Don’t promise someone you’ll help them move or put off your strength training until the evening!

What else can I do if I don’t want to give platelets?

Not everyone who is eligible to donate blood can or wants to give platelets, and that’s a good thing. There is always a need for other blood components including, of course, whole blood. Here are some of the ways you can help:

• Make a whole blood donation. This can be used as is or separated into its components.
• Make a Power Red donation. This donation allows you to give more red blood cells, the most frequently used component of whole blood donations. Power Red donations take a little longer than a whole blood donation but less time than a platelet donation. You can only make Power Red donations three times a year. Weight requirements for donors, particularly female donors, are higher than they are for other types of donations, and there are height requirements, too.
• If you are type AB, make an AB Elite plasma donation. AB plasma can be given to people of any blood type and is highly in demand. AB Elite donors can give 13 times a year. Your donation will take only slightly longer than a whole blood donation.
• If you have recovered from COVID-19, consider donating plasma to help those who are very sick.