(ay-fer-ee-sis) comes from a Greek word meaning to “take away”.

It is a special type of blood donation that allows blood to be drawn from a blood donor and separated into its component parts with all but the needed component being returned to the donor. When you make a donation through the apheresis process, you give one specific component of the blood, most often platelets. This procedure is fully automated with the use of a state of the art blood cell separator or apheresis machine.

Once donated, this living gift must be transfused to a patient within five days if collected and stored under optimal conditions. To assure that platelets are always available and that each patient will receive the platelets that are the best match, platelet donations are needed every day. On occasion, blood donors are also needed to give plasma or infection-fighting white cells (called granulocytes) through the apheresis process.

WHAT ARE PLATELETS?

Platelets are tiny blood cells that are essential for blood to clot.

WHO CAN DONATE PLATELETS WITH APHERESIS?

Almost anyone who is a BLOOD DONOR can donate platelets. You can donate platelets every 48 hours for a total of 24 times per year.

Apheresis donors must:

• Be in good health during the time of donation
• Not have a history of hepatitis, cancer, malaria,AIDS or heart disease
• Be at least 17 years of age (guardian's consent required for donors below 18 years old)
• Weigh at least 110 lbs. or 50 kgs. (heavy weight donor is an advantage)
• Be willing to give at least 2 hours of time for donation (machine dependent)
• Not have taken aspirin or aspirin containing products for the past 5 days (aspirin consumption takes away the “stickiness” of platelets causing the platelets to lose their ability to adhere properly when needed to stop bleeding).
• Not have taken Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs NSAIDs for 24 hours. (NSAIDs contain analgesic (for pain) and antipyretic (for fever) properties which mimic the action of aspirin and interfere with platelet function for up to the first 24 hours after taking the medication).

Apheresis facts:

• Apheresis usually refers to platelets which are the most common components drawn through this method.
• In the human body, platelets are the first step in the clotting process.
• Apheresis donors give about 10% of their platelets with no loss in clotting ability.
• One apheresis donor gives 6-8 times as many platelets as one whole blood donor. Apheresis platelets are called “single donor” platelets because one donor has given enough for one transfusion “dose”.
• Bone marrow transplant, cancer and leukemia patients benefit from single donor platelets which greatly reduce the chances of rejection from the patient’s bodies.
• It takes about two hours to separate enough platelets to help these critically ill patients.
• Donors with high platelet counts often are able to donate the equivalent of two “single donor” units or doses during one donation. These units are called double products.
• The collection bags, tubing and needles are all sterile and used for one donation only. The donor’s blood never comes in direct contact with the machine.
• Individuals can donate platelets frequently (every 48 hours) because their platelets are rapidly replaced, usually within one day.
• Once collected, platelets must be transfused within 5 days or be discarded.
• On average, leukemia patients require more than 20 platelet transfusions over a 6-month period.
• Many critically ill patients require tissue-typed platelets (HLA matches). Regular donors are typed and used to meet these needs. The chance for an exact patient-donor match is 1 in 20,000.

WHY SEPARATE BLOOD INTO COMPONENTS?

Each blood component, namely, RED CELLS, WHITE CELLS, PLATELETS or PLASMA has a special function. A whole unit of blood contains only about 30 ml. of platelet concentrate. Six to eight whole blood donations would be needed to supply enough platelets for one patient. However, one apheresis donation from a SINGLE DONOR can provide sufficient platelets for one transfusion.

HOW DOES APHERESIS WORK?

Blood is drawn from a donor and sent through sterile disposable tubings into a centrifuge belt or bowl located inside a blood cell separator machine. The machine spins the blood to separate the platelets (or whatever component is needed). The platelets are then collected into a bag and the rest of the blood is returned to the blood donor via the same tubings (single needle procedure).

WHO NEEDS APHERESIS PLATELETS?

Patients with cancer or leukemia, transplant patients and patients with blood diseases such as aplastic anemia or undergoing bone marrow transplants often rely on platelets donated by healthy volunteers to prevent life-threatening bleeding. During chemotherapy or radiation therapy, both malignant and normal cells are destroyed. Therefore patients need component transfusions to prevent bleeding or to fight infection.

RANDOM WHOLE BLOOD DONATION vs. PLATELET DONATION

Although a small amount of platelets are present in a whole blood donation, it takes approximately five whole blood donations to yield as many platelets as a single apheresis donation. Enough platelets are given in one apheresis donation to help one or even two hospital patients.

COMMON QUESTIONS

“ satisfied donors are frequent donors”
…. When blood donors have a positive donation experience, they are more likely to become repeat blood donors.