Have you ever donated blood? Or maybe thought about it?
With very little effort on your part, you have the opportunity to help THREE people at a time, every time you donate blood. It’s so easy to be a hero!
The actual blood draw/extraction portion itself takes about 6 minutes. Including the screening questions & registration pre-donation and recovery time in the canteen following your donation, your total donation should take less than 30 minutes. Think about this: how much easier could it be to save a life, than to lie still for 6 minutes and then enjoy a bag of chips and some Gatorade after?
WHY should you donate blood?
If you are healthy, a single blood donation can be broken down into red blood cells, platelets, and plasma. All three of these components can help a different patient fight a different disease or overcome an injury.
Red blood cells (RBCs) are necessary for carrying oxygen throughout your bloodstream. Healthy red blood cells are most helpful for those who are anemic. These cells be refrigerated for up to 42 days.
Platelets are essential for clotting purposes, as well as fighting disease and responding to trauma. According to OneBlood.org, nearly 38% of all platelet donations are used for cancer patients! Platelets have the shortest shelf life of all – only 5 days.
Plasma is necessary for those who have sustained severe burns or trauma, patients with cancer or clotting disorders, and many more! Plasma can be frozen and stored for up to 1 year, giving it the longest shelf life. The most desirable blood type for plasma donations is AB.
WHAT can you donate?
Donating all three of these components together is call a whole blood donation. The blood bank will later separate everything and distribute to patients in need. You are eligible to make this type of a donation every 56 days.
If you are donating only RBCs, this is called a power red donation. It takes a bit longer, closer to 30 minutes, to draw the blood. They remove a double dose of RBCs and return your platelets and plasma back to you. Because they withdraw more RBCs, you are eligible to donate this product less often (every 16 weeks).
If you are donating platelets, this process is quite lengthy, as it takes a longer time to extract your blood, filter out the platelets and return the plasma and RBCs back into your system. The good news, you are eligible to donate more often – every 7 days. Platelets cannot be stored as long, so the need for this product is always critical.
If you are donating plasma, your frequency depends of where you choose to donate. At the Red Cross, they permit AB Elite plasma donations every 28 days. However, all blood types may donate at a BioLife facility twice every 7 days.
What Do I Personally Donate?
I choose to donate platelets as often as I have the time. Truthfully, the staff at my donation center are so friendly, they help to pass the time. Plus, I get to catch up on my reading whenever I’m in the chair. Your donation time is based in part on your weight and hemoglobin levels. Based on those factors, it takes about 95-105 minutes to extract the platelets. If those factors are higher, it takes less time. Lower, and it’s a longer process. Rest assured, it’s quite an easy process and you are generally quite comfortable for the duration.
What Can You Expect?
I never donated blood as a young adult, and while I thought about it, I never did it as a “real adult” out in the workforce. Only after a personal experience did I realize the gift that blood donation provides a patient in need.
I came to terms with my squeamishness around needles and blood, and finally decided to give back. I was afraid of contamination – my reluctance to donate earlier in my life was purely selfish. I’ll tell you, based on my experience, the entire blood draw is handled very professionally by my blood bank, using sterile procedures/equipment and they explain everything throughout the process.
The screening process can be rather extensive. They’ll ask about 50 questions (electronically) to make sure you are eligible for the donation. They do this not only to protect the recipients of each donation but also the donors themselves. Questions are based on medications you might take, places you’ve traveled, & diseases you may already have, among others.
Your vitals are assessed to make sure you are healthy enough to donate and your hemoglobin levels are identified through a simple finger prick. Even though I donate 6-10 times a year, I still can’t watch this part! How weird is that? By the way, hemoglobin are the molecules in your blood that carry the oxygen from your lungs to your tissues and return the carbon dioxide from your tissues back to your lungs. Consider them to be the Amazon delivery service of the human body. You need A LOT of those guys to make your system work properly.
Understand You May Not Be Eligible Every Time
This screening process has turned me away a few times, mostly because my hemoglobin levels haven’t been high enough for MY safely. It took me a long time to understand (and not take personally) that in order to donate, your hemoglobin levels need to be HIGHER than a typical healthy range, since you’ll be giving away some of your blood thereby decreasing your levels internally. It takes about 56 days for your body to replenish itself to donate again.
How I Prepare
So, before I donate, I try to do few things to get my iron levels elevated. Two weeks ahead of time, I work to include more iron rich food sources in my daily routine. Because we don’t eat much red meat, I know that I generally need a boost to “pre-game.” I’ll add a few extra meals of lean, red meats to our menus as well as continuing to eat (though with increased frequency) leafy greens, fortified cereal, eggs or nuts. The day before, I will strive to increase my water intake. Being well hydrated makes your blood move faster, expediting your donation process. My goal is always 60+ oz of water a day, but on donation days, I work hard to get that in before I go. The morning of, I will eat a very healthy breakfast, always including an iron rich protein and usually some spinach.
When I’ve failed the screening process, I’ve usually rushed from work and still had stressful things on my mind. That leads to increase heart rate (plus I have white coat syndrome!)… Or I haven’t eaten a great meal before arriving (and didn’t take care of myself in the weeks leading up) leading to low hemoglobin numbers. If you eat a well-balanced diet, it is very likely that you won’t have to pre-game like I do. Women tend to have lower iron levels, which can also be affected by hormonal fluctuations throughout the month. Certain foods/drinks also tend to limit iron absorption. I’ve learned not to have any caffeine on donation day!
Why do I donate blood?
Well, my story begins like many other’s. I was going about my business, living what I thought was my best life, when my Dad was diagnosed with a particularly aggressive form of blood cancer. It was unexpected, as he was healthy, in good shape and we had just come back from an adventurous family vacation.
Throughout his battle, my Dad needed countless transfusions, as this horrific disease robs the body of it’s ability to make RBCs and platelets. Because of this, he needed the donations of others to literally get his finger to stop dripping blood after a routine glucose test or to have the energy to get out of his hospital bed and walk 15 feet down the hallway. There were days when there was no blood for him, and he had to sit suffering in his bed or chair until a donation was ready and a courier could deliver it to the cancer center.
So I choose to donate for people like my Dad, all of whom have families that love them and want to continue to create as many memories together as possible. My hope is that my miniscule sacrifice can help someone I’ll never meet have something that I can no longer have with my Dad – TIME.
Be a hero: donate blood & save a life today!
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HBD, Dad! WYWH…
