Types of Donation
By far when someone mentions blood donation what we think of first is of whole blood donation which is the most common type of donation performed in blood collection centres. But interesting enough there are different types of donations which we call aphaeresis.
Whole blood as present in the vein is collected from the donor and is later processed and separated into different products in laboratories.
There are different reasons why one donates whole blood. These are either, to add to the pool, there are also the autologus and direct donations.
Aphaeresis is a Greek word which means ' to extract'. The process of aphaeresis involves the extraction of a component of blood by means of a special machine, thus the donor will give only one particular component of his/her blood.
Only particular donors can donate specific blood products and the NBTS selects these from regular donors.
There are two main types of aphaerisis; plasmaphaerisis which is the extraction of plasma and cytaphaeresis which is the extraction of some type of cell. In our donation centres we perfomr platelet collection only.
Whole Blood -Pool
Whole blood donation is when a person donates blood freely to those in need. This is the most common type of donation. The blood that is collected is placed in blood banks stores to supply the hospitals, that's why we refer to it as pooled blood.
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Auotolgus Donation ( when a person gives blood intended for him/herself)
When a person gets to know that he/she is going to need elective surgery and would be needing blood, one can ask about the procedure to give blood to oneself. This procedure requires that the person is eligible to donate blood as per general questionnaire which is given to every blood donor. This means that though the person would be donating blood to oneself, the principles for blood donation will be the same as when a regular donor donates blood. Therefore, if a person has a disease, such as Hepatitis, HIV or some other medical problem for which a donor is usually deferred, this also applies to a person who opts for an autologus donation.
As from five weeks prior to the operation, the patient should discuss with the consultant who will carry out the procedure whether or not he agrees that an autologous donation should be taken. If the consultant agrees, he should complete a form which can be obtained from the National Blood Transfusion Centre. Despite this, a detailed discussion has to take place regarding the procedure and the final decision will ONLY be taken by the doctor examining the person before blood donation. In the case that the patient would not need to be transfused during the operation, that blood cannot be used on someone else.
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Another service that the Blood Transfusion Center offers (although it is not recommended), is that of donating blood to somebody specific.
This procedure is not recommended since it was discovered, from various studies which have taken place, that this kind of donation places the patient at a greater risk than regular donations. Apart from this, when blood is taken from close relatives, eg parents or siblings, this blood has to go through a certain amount of radiation to make sure that all white cells are destroyed. This is important so that certain reactions during the transfusion are avoided. This is called GRAFT VERSUS HOST DISEASE.
When this type of donation takes place, the blood is reserved for a specific patient, and similarly to the procedure mentioned earlier, the blood cannot be used on someone else, even if the patient would not need the transfusion.
In these cases, it is important that the patient gives consent that s/he will accept the blood from these donors with all the potential consequences. The consent form can be obtained from the Blood Donation Centre. It is important that these donors come over to this Centre at least one week prior to the donation.
Although a patient signs that he accepts to receive blood from these persons, the donors still have to go through all the procedures as if they were regular donors, meaning that they have to pass from the questionnaire and the examining doctor at the Centre decides whether or not the donation takes place. Top Plasmaphaeresis
Plasmaphaeresis is the extraction of plasma from whole blood. This used to be done in the donation area and used to be a common procedure. However, at present, every bag of whole blood is separated in the laboratory (seperation) into three separate units, i) plasma ii) red blood cells concentrate and iii) the buffy coat (white blood cells and platelets in some plasma). The buffy coat and the plasma may be further separated in the laboratories to extract more products.
Plasma transfusion may be necessary to replace acute blood loss such as in severe burns. As plasma contains the clotting factors, it is also indicated to correct or relieve symptoms of many bleeding disorders. Top Plateletphaeresis The most important type of aphaeresis is the extraction of platelets from blood which is known as plateletphaeresis. For further details please go here.
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