BLOOD DONORS
know the drill: Tey roll
up their sleeves, a phlebotomist inserts a
needle and, in short order, a pint of blood
has fowed from vein to sterile plastic bag,
ready for testing and processing and ulti-
mately for delivery to one or more grateful
recipients.
Such a donation is known as whole
blood—whole because it has not yet been
separated into red cells, platelets and
plasma, blood’s three most commonly
transfused component parts. Te separa-
tion comes later, during processing.
A better way
Now a versatile automated collection
machine, installed by Te Blood Alliance
(TBA) in its Beaufort donor center at 1001
Boundary St. last October, is enabling
local donors to give only the most valu-
able parts of their particular blood type—
More info
Make an appointment or
ask for more information
about donation.
Visit us at
www.igiveblood.com
or call
843-522-0409
.
typically platelets and plasma—and thus
maximize the beneft of their donation
to others. Te Blood Alliance is the sole
provider of blood to Beaufort Memorial
Hospital.
Te Trima Automated Collection
System takes whole blood from the
donor’s arm, then spins out the desired
parts and returns those that remain. Te
process, which takes about 90 minutes,
uses a smaller needle than whole-blood
donation and is comfortable for the donor.
Why separate the blood?
Platelets are needed by cancer patients
during chemotherapy and radiation
treatment and patients undergoing organ
transplantation, cardiac bypass and sur-
geries of various kinds. Trauma victims
with uncontrolled bleeding and people
with severe burns often require platelets
and plasma.
In a single Trima collection, a donor
can give enough platelets for one thera-
peutic dose; four to six whole-blood dona-
tions are needed to collect an equivalent
amount. Not only is automated collection
(known as apheresis) efcient, but fewer
donors also means less risk of transfusion
reaction for the recipient.
Tough whole-blood donors must
wait 56 days between donations, plate-
let donors can give more often. Many
donate about once a month, says Michael
Mathews, Manager of TBA’s Savannah–
Beaufort region.
Te shelf life of platelets is a mere
fve days—and that’s from the time of
collection—so frequent replenishment is
essential.
Calling all A’s, B’s and AB’s
Te most desirable platelet and plasma
donors? Tose with A, B and AB blood
types. AB is the universal plasma donor—
all blood types can receive it—making it
the gold standard.
Access to automated donation at the
Beaufort donor center has been met with
enthusiasm by seasoned platelet donors
from other places.
“Tis is an important technology,”
Mathews says, “and TBA brought it to
Beaufort because we were certain to have
continued superior community support.”
Te Blood
Alliance
is the sole
provider
of blood to
Beaufort
Memorial
Hospital.
Doctor Referral Service: 888-522-5585 • Health Scene
31
GIVING BLOOD
Another way
to save lives
Benjamin Altman, of Yemassee, on the new Trima machine at Te Blood Alliance
donor center in Beaufort.