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Blood Donation Screening Process in Best Interest

An increase in the number of automobile accidents and elective surgeries postponed until after the holidays typically makes the first of the year a time of critically low blood supply. A drop in donations between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day further aggravates the situation. The American Red Cross declares a code of emergency and must appeal to the community for donations if the supply drops below a one and one-half to two-day blood supply. Janelle says special blood drives, such as the one held on New Year's Eve at University Hospital, are critical in the effort to drive up donations.

"Sometimes people don't become blood donors until they are personally affected," Janelle says. "But if everyone waited for a tragedy in their own lives or those of their friends and family, it could be too late for those in emergency need of blood today."

"Somebody has to do it," Lloyd says matter-of-factly, and he encourages other "somebodies" to give as well. His latest recruit was a first-time donor and member of the Housekeeping staff whom he convinced to give at Ellis Fischel's last blood drive. "I just told him that it doesn't hurt anything and that it's actually good for you to renew your blood every once in a while."

There are eight different blood types - O+, O-, A+, A-, B+, B-, AB+ and AB-. Only 8 percent of the U.S. population has the universal blood type O-, meaning anyone can receive this type of blood in a trauma situation. Lloyd is among the 38 percent of Americans who have O+ blood. Anyone with a positive blood type can receive O+, making it the second highest blood type in demand.

When separated into red blood cells, platelets and plasma, a pint of whole blood can save up to three lives. Millie Buckler, an admissions adviser nurse with the Care Coordination Center, began donating to the American Red Cross as a nursing student 40 years ago. To date, she has made 57 donations, the equivalent of seven gallons of blood and some 170 lives saved.

"You see the need when you work in the medical field," says Millie of her reason for giving. "And you hope if you ever need blood, someone would do it for you."

Six years ago, Millie became a regular platelet donor, which requires her to spend two hours at the American Red Cross' local office, where a special machine separates blood platelets from whole blood product. Because the procedure returns red blood cells and plasma to the body, platelet donors can give whole blood just four days after giving platelets.

One donor can provide all the platelets needed during a transfusion. While plasma can be obtained by the same procedure, typically enough is collected through whole blood donations. Red blood cells come strictly from whole blood donations.

To be eligible to give blood, donors must be at least 17 years old, weigh 110 pounds or more and be in good health. Janelle says most people are eligible donors, including people with diabetes and cancer patients who have not had chemotherapy and who have been cancer-free for five years. The exceptions are those who have taken antibiotics within 48 hours, people who have a history of illness and those who otherwise would endanger the blood supply.

Thanks to a thorough two-step screening process and a very accurate type-matching system, Janelle says the Red Cross' blood supply is very safe. "Some people are offended by the questions we ask them during the screening process, but when you consider that all of us are potential blood recipients, it's in everyone's best interest," she says, adding that it's also in everyone's best interest to give.