Re: For Marla- question about platelet donors

From: Marla
Date: 1/3/2004
Time: 1:10:47 AM
Remote Name: 66.81.166.70

Comments

Hi Becca:

Hope you had a great new years!

(Your question) (1) Did you make sure that your donors were not HLA matches for you in the event that you needed a transplant at a later date?

(My answer) (1) No. That was not an issue for me because I had already decided that I did not want to have a BMT at all. However, my doc did make sure that my blood products were all filtered and irradiated before transfusion anyway to help ensure less complications. (I believe that's standard for anyone anticipating a BMT).

(Your question) (2) How did you find the donors? (Random people or people you knew?) Did they need to undergo any special testing?

(My answer) (2) One person was random, but was willing to continue donating specifically for me. The other 5 donors were people I knew. As far as testing goes, my donors told me that they had the same testing as anyone else would donating at the Red Cross--finger prick CBC which included hgb, plts, wbc, and iron; they had to weigh at least 110 lbs.; have normal temperature; on no antibiotics or other specified medications; no piercings or tatoos done within the past year; complete a questionnaire regarding health conditions, previous travels, sexual orientation, etc. If they passed all that, then they would donate blood, and the blood would be sent off for testing. It usually took about 3 days for platelets to be transfusion ready and about 5 days for red blood to be transfusion ready. (One of my friends found out he had hep B after he donated. The blood bank called him to let him know).

(Your question) (3) How did you go about organizing this with the Red Cross?

(My answer) (3) I did not organize it with the Red Cross. My hospital has it's own blood bank, and they are the ones we worked with to organize my blood donors. (I only know of getting one unit of blood from the Red Cross). My donors gave blood at my hospital's blood bank, and the blood was stored right there. I know that not all hospitals have that luxury, but some do. It's really a God send for transfusion dependent people.

Hope this answers your questions.

Take care!

Marla