Platelet donation experiences

[Tim Hall]

Does anyone here do platelet donation? I did my first one yesterday and found it a bit more intense than standard Whole Blood doning. I got tingly lips and scalp from the anticoagulant, but the staff were quick to react when I told them. I understand it's due to low  calcium and wondered if I should  be munching chalk before I go next time to help.

[Martin]

no never done it; I'm O- so they just want my red cells. But by being an apheresis donor you are vastly increasing the supply of platelets over just taking them from whole blood (due to the increased frequency at which you can donate)

Yes there may be more tingly bits compared to regular but they absolutely know their job and it's fine

thanks Tim (huge thumbs up thingy!)

[hellymedic]

I have no personal experience of platelet donation but reckon milk might be a more palatable source of calcium than chalk.

Did you cycle to the donor centre? Hyperventilation can drop the calcium in the circulation.

[Tim Hall]

They gave me a glass of milk and turned the machine that goes ping down a notch to counteract the tingling.

Helly, no, I was in London for work in my car, so drove there . The  nearest platelet centre to me is Tooting, which is a bit of a schlep.

Martin, A neg here, which apparently is universal donor when it's platelets, which came as a surprise as I  know O whole blood is good for donating.. (Memories of Mr Simms, biology o level, telling us O is the universal dOnOr)

[Martin]

Tim; you have to turn ABO compatibility upside down when it comes to platelets and plasma; A platelets are more "universal" than most as they only contain anti-B antibodies so they can be safely given to anyone except B and AB; and it's not the same as given ABO incompatible red cells;(positive and negative is almost no issue in platelets)

in practice they don't worry too much about the ABO antibodies in platelets for most transfusions as the fluid within which the platelets swim / bob / agitate gets diluted within the recipient's blood volume so reducing the effect; so it affects young small patients a lot more than adults*

* and of course bone marrow transplants where the recipient's blood group may change so they need to avoid any further conflict between what they were what they will become and what they are being transfused

[offcumden]

After years of giving full blood I've been donating platelets once a month for about the last eighteen months.  Now the 'novelty', and perhaps a bit initial apprehension, has worn off I find it quite a relaxing experience; perhaps the most difficult part is keeping very still - especially in my favoured right arm - for over an hour!

I have had lip-tingling a couple of times (a bit like knee-trembling, but for different reasons), and they simply adjusted the machine accordingly.  No mention of calcium - I must ask about that next time.

Three or four months after I started donating platelets my 3yo granddaughter had viral encephalitis which, of course, can be devastating. Fortunately, thanks partly to platelet transfusions, she made an excellent recovery.  I'll keep on donating as long as I can.

[Tim Hall]

Just had a text from the Blood-o-bot to tell me my platelets have been issued to St Thomas' Hosp.  I hope they do some good.

[offcumden]

Yes, that's something they have started doing recently. Although you donate unconditionally, it is very reinforcing to know where it goes.

[ElyDave]

thanks folks, as one not allowed to donate, I appreciate your efforts (just in case)

[zigzag]

well done Tim, i've the same blood group as you, donated three times so far but they keep on insisting to donate platelets. i understand the value of this and will give platelets next time (it's just that they seem to have only one place to  platelets in london - in tooting - which is a bit of a journey for me) - in october when the cycling season is over.

[Tim Hall]

2nd go today and got 5.8 x 10^11 platelets out (although I didn't count them all).  This time was a whole lot smoother and featured more biscuits.

To any one thinking about doing this, go on. What have you got to lose?

[seasider]

Just noticed this thread. I donate platelets once a month at the Lancaster Hospital. I struggle to keep the centrifuge working on occasions and have to clench and unclench my hand all the time, that's as well as having a heat pad under my arm.I am told to have had some food and to keep hydrated before donation. A good group of NHS staff doing a great job for I guess close to minimum wage. Will keep donating as long I can.

[offcumden]

After my July donation, when my haemoglobin level was 129, I was asked not to donate for 3 months. In the meantime I tweaked my (pesco-veggie) diet to include a bit more greens/dried fruit, and tried avoiding tea/coffee around mealtimes.  This latter was more troublesome - if you have a cuppa when you awake, how long do you have to wait for breakfast? And how soon after breakfast can you drink coffee?  And how effective is this - suggested to me by my doctor - anyway?

At my October donation my Hb level was 138, but how much of this increase was due to my dietary tweaks, and how much to the fact that I'd had a 3 month layoff (and, indeed, how much is just 'chance') I'll never know. I don't know my level at yesterday's session, but my little drop of blood sank quickly to the bottom of the phial, so I suppose that's OK.

I ate breakfast this morning an hour after an early cuppa, and have just had coffee a couple of hours later.  Really don't know if I can be a'd to keep this up, though.  While I don't really doubt that there's some evidence that certain constituents of tea and coffee inhibit the absorption of iron, I have to wonder how significant it might be.  OK, so it's measurable, but then so is the reduced drag from, say, bladed spokes but, in my version of the real world, it really doesn't matter.

Does anyone else know better?

[arabella]

I don't weigh enough for platelet donation so my reply relates to blood donation for which of course they also test hb levels.  The times I've come in as low have been because they've closely followed lots of exercise (one or my rejections was about 10 days after riding LEL '09, for example).
I don't think the speed your drop sinks is indicative of very much - merely if it doesn't sink they do a proper test. but icbw.

[offcumden]

The times I've come in as low have been because they've closely followed lots of exercise (one or my rejections was about 10 days after riding LEL '09, for example).

Yep, I believe that's called athletic anaemia - for which you might want to claim bragging rights  . My low readings have been in the summer when I do most riding.

don't think the speed your drop sinks is indicative of very much - merely if it doesn't sink they do a proper test. but icbw.

You're probably right.

[jsabine]

The times I've come in as low have been because they've closely followed lots of exercise (one or my rejections was about 10 days after riding LEL '09, for example).

Yep, I believe that's called athletic anaemia - for which you might want to claim bragging rights  . My low readings have been in the summer when I do most riding.

I've been marginal a couple of times when I've donated in the week after a 200 or a 300 - the second time I think I squeaked in by 0.1 of whatever units they measure in. It made me wonder about the benefits of taking iron tablets during long brevets - for circulation reasons rather than for donation - but my anecdata suggests it might be beneficial for the latter: no problem donating a week after finishing PBP last year.

don't think the speed your drop sinks is indicative of very much - merely if it doesn't sink they do a proper test. but icbw.

You're probably right.

They do a proper test if it takes too long, even if it does sink completely. My assumption is that the speed of sinking correlates pretty well with the density of the drop, which presumably itself follows the iron level.

(Again, whole blood. Like zigzag, Tooting's closest but not exactly convenient, and while I might be persuaded to make it every three months or so, I assume if I'm doing it that infrequently it's more useful for me to give whole blood. Last time they muttered about there being five bags not three (or something), and that this meant it was going to be used for platelets anyway.)

[zigzag]

well, i've asked to be tested for the platelets today (before the regular blood donation), and after visual inspection they said they'd need larger veins for that and took my name off their "platelet marketing list/campaign".