I donated blood (whole blood) for the first time like 4 weeks ago. Two weeks later, they called me asking if I could also donate platelets soon. I did so yesterday. While donating, I was asked if I would be willing to donate again in the near future. I said that I would, and they asked if I would be willing to donate platelets again, since that’s what’s in short supply, because of its short shelf life.
Why would they want platelets more than whole blood?
When I donate whole blood, can’t the platelets from that be used?
I would imagine it has something to do with the quantity of platelets that they receive through that donation process, but if the shelf life is much shorter for lone platelets, and the process is grueling (it took 2.5 hours as opposed to 15 minutes, and I felt horrible during), why not just ask for whole blood donations then isolate platelets from there?
In: Biology
Because people can donate platelets WAY more frequently. Once every 10 days pretty much. This is because it doesn’t take away your red blood cells you need to move oxygen around your body.
And, when you donate just platelets, yes they can take WAY MORE platelets. 1 platelet only donation will collect 6 to 10 times the platelets they could get from a single whole blood donation.
You’re right, they could remove platelets from whole blood, but that also then means that the whole blood isn’t whole blood anymore. And that extra processing is more work to do after the fact (and I am also not sure if that whole blood could even be used anymore after the platelets have been removed)
You can absolutely isolate platelets from whole blood. The reason why they want platelet-only donations (and the same is true for plasma donations) is that these blood components regenerate more quickly than others, so donors can be called up more often and an overall greater volume of platelets/plasma can be extracted safely. If you donate whole blood, you need to wait longer between donations because the slower-regenerating components are also being depleted.
It takes 90-120 days to replace all of your RBCs, it only takes 10 days to replace platelets. By only taking platelets you can donate much more frequently.
Some conditions (such as cancer) result in a lower platelet count. Cancer patients consume most platelet donations. The problem is really that they need platelets more than they need blood cells. A unit from apheresis platelet donation can yield approximately six times the number of platelets compared to whole-blood-derived platelet donations.
So it’s a win-win for everybody. Taking platelets and leaving the rest is FAR more efficient for the patient who needs platelets rather than whole blood.
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