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
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.
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