The Good Things in Life > Extending the hand of kindness
"May" We Tell You You ROCK?! (Remember! Both donors AND NON-donors are stars!)
JoW:
faithlessone - Do they have "platelets only" donations in the UK? You might be able to donate platelets. It takes longer, but it helps a lot of people.
Now - the reason for the minimum weight -
A human is 8% blood by weight. A pint of blood weighs a pound or maybe a little more. In the US the minimum weight is 120 lbs. A person who weighs 120 lbs has less than 10 pints of blood. Taking one can make a serious shortage, so they can pass out. A 200 lb person has 16 pints, loosing one has much less impact.
I can't donate platelets. I live on aspirin, and aspirin destroys platelets. I do whole blood every 8-10 weeks. I'm eligible again, I think its July 6. My fat cat has to go to the vet for a weight check that afternoon and I'm not going to try to haul him - 25 lbs of cat + 5 lbs of cage - after a blood donation. I'll try to get in the following week.
faithlessone:
--- Quote from: JoW on June 24, 2012, 04:21:06 PM ---faithlessone - Do they have "platelets only" donations in the UK? You might be able to donate platelets. It takes longer, but it helps a lot of people.
--- End quote ---
I just checked that out - apparently the UK does do platelet-only donations, but they have same weight requirements as the normal blood donations, so I might not be eligible. I will look into it though.
nutraxfornerves:
I donated Tuesday.
Apropos of weight requirements, the person across from me was a first-time donor, a small woman. The minimum in my blood bank is 110 lbs (50 kg). If you weigh less than 120, they take what they call a "light" donation. I think it's 400 ml instead of 450 ml. Anyway, the nurse has placed a big yellow sticky that said "light" on the scale next to the donor.
There weren't other people waiting, so the nurse was taking her time to explain every single step and exclaiming every so often "you are doing really well! Just another couple of minutes!" It actually took her about 10 minutes. The nurse even took the time to explain the ABO system and to give examples of how blood is used.
Me--I set a personal best of 4:45 minutes from the minute the needle went in until the nurse stopped it. I also got a coupon for a free sandwich from a local chain and, because I made my next appointment on the spot, was entered into a drawing for two tickets to a performance at a local theater.
Just Lori:
I tried to donate last week, but my hemoglobin was again low. Because this was the second time in three or four donation tries, I decided to ask my doctor to recheck it. Without going into details, a few things came back wonky in my bloodwork. I'm waiting to see a hematologist next week.
Regardless of what comes out ot this, I have to thank this thread for keeping me on a schedule for donating blood and bringing this to my attention. I'm hoping it's nothing and I can go back to my donation schedule soon.
GreenEyedHawk:
I donated yesterday. At our local donation centre, you check in, read the info pamphlet, go to the first station, which is the finger stick and iron test. Then you fill out the first half of the questionnaire, put the card with your name on it (first name, last initial) in a little box. Nurses at screening stations pull cards out of the box and you go into a little private booth, where they check your temperature, BP and pulse, as well as checking your arms for lesions that indicate you might be an IV drug user. Then they read you the second half of the questionnaire and fill it in for you.
The nurse I got this time around for the booth screening section was a guy named Will, who was so enthusiastic it was like being on a game show. When I was done the questionnaire, I half expected to win money, or a trip to Cancun, or perhaps a new car LOL. It's all right though, I liked his enthusiasm.
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