Plateletapheresis

It was last friday night when i was busy preparing dinner, my husband got a call from one of the society that arranges for blood donation in case of need. They asked for B+ve platelets to be donated for a patient who is in serious condition. We have no idea on what this platelet donation is all about and so i called my family doctor and got it confirmed that its safe to proceed.

We had our dinner and rushed to the hospital at around 9 in the night. Preliminary test is done and they confirmed that my hubby can go ahead for donation. Meantime we went to see the patient for whom we had been asked for the platelets. We understood from his relatives that his platelet count has come down to 8000 while the normal range is 1.5 Lakh - 4.5 Lakh. We spoke to him for few mins and left to another hospital where Plateletapheresis is done.

When we reached there it was 1130 pm where some formalities had to completed before the process actually started. It started around 1200 am and got completed by 1. The process continued for 4 times which had resulted in 210 ml in which we were told there will be around lakh platelets. During the process my hubby felt numbness around his lips and they immediately gave calcium tablets. During the third round, they provided a cup of hot tea which also helped him warm up his body. After the process is over, they advised my hubby to walk around for 15 mins and not to drive any vehicle immediately. We took rest for nearly 20 mins and started back. It was 140 when we reached the hospital, where we dropped the patient's relatives and handed over the platelets. We then drove back to home and it was 230 in the night when we reached home.

Morning we got a call from the patient's brother that his platelet count has increased to 90000 from 8000 and he is quite stable. We both felt very happy and that was the most satisfying week end that we had.

People who are interested can please register in http://www.indianblooddonors.com/

Some information on Platelets: (Thanks to Manju for sharing this information)

What are platelets?

To tell in a simple way there are present in our blood like RBC, WBC atc. They help in blood clotting (ratham uraithaluku udhavi seiyum)

Why are they important?

When there is a cut in your body and when u bleed these platelets stop that beeding and help your blood to clot.

What will happen when the platelets count go down?

The main danger is that it can cause internal bleeding, like bleeding in your brain or very delicate internal organ. The patient can bleed to death.

How long the platelets live?

The platelets are continually renewed in our body. They live for 10-12 days. Once when u donate platelets they are replenished within 72h.

Where are platelets produced?

In our bone marrow (elumbu majainu solluvangala athula)

Who needs platelet donation?
Cancer patients, bone marrow transplant patients, patients who receive chemotherapy, dengue patients etc. For blood cancer patients they give chemotherapy which can kill all blood cells in his body. So the platelet count also goes down. That is the reason they need platelet donation.

Is platelet donation safe?
YES

How are platelets collected?

The process of seperation of platelets from other blood components is called apheresis. Now there are sophisticated machines which seperate platelets from other blood components