•According to the Mayo Clinic, Platelets (thrombocytes) are colourless blood cells that help blood clot.
•Platelet components are transfused to treat or prevent haemorrhage in patients.
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When you walk into a health facility to donate blood, in most cases, you give a whole pint of blood that can save four people - three children and one adult.
In the blood itself, we have life-saving components that include red blood cells, platelets and plasma. After a whole blood donation, your blood is sent to the laboratory where it is spun down and separated into different parts.
Each part, red blood cells, platelets and plasma, has unique medical uses, storage conditions and shelf life.
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So it is upon the specialists to know where each component is stored and to what temperatures they should be stored.
But how exactly are platelets extracted from blood?
According to the Mayo Clinic, Platelets (thrombocytes) are colorless blood cells that help blood clot.
Platelet components are transfused to treat or prevent haemorrhage in patients.
Apart from patients with massive blood loss, the biggest group of patients requiring platelet transfusions are those with haematological malignancies.
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When you don’t have enough platelets or your count is low, you will have a condition called Thrombocytopenia. This may occur as a result of a bone marrow disorder such as leukaemia or an immune system problem.
DONATING PLATELETS
During a platelet donation, called Apheresis, a donor's whole blood is removed into sterile tubing and satellite bags in a machine called a centrifuge.
The machine spins your blood to separate your red blood cells, platelets and plasma into components within the machine.
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As the machine draws the blood in a special reservoir, it separates the platelets from the rest of the blood in a process known as centrifugation.
In the process, the heavier red cells sink to the bottom and are taken back to the body.
The liquid plasma rises and in between these two components is a layer of platelets that are tracked into a small pouch wrapped around the cylinder of the centrifuge.
A technician from the Nakuru Health facility Sammy Kariuki explains that from the machine, you can separate what is needed for the recipient.
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“As the donor continues pumping and the blood gets into the machine, the blood is separated. If all things stand constant, the donor should stop the donation after 45 minutes,” he explains.
WHO CAN DONATE
Before the donation, a full blood count must be done on the donor. If the blood count is high, the donor will be allowed to donate but if the count is low, the donation will be impossible.
Platelet donors are selected from among regular blood donors. First-time blood donors are not allowed to donate platelets, since donor's veins have to be assessed for suitability for platelet donation.
Also, if a donor cannot tolerate a whole blood donation, he will not be recruited as a platelet donor.
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Kariuki says during the donation, the donor is given warm drinks to boost his energy.
The donor must have 'suitable' veins: Since the machine draws and returns a considerable amount of blood back to the donor.
You must also have an adequate platelet count which is tested for by performing a blood test within the Donation Centre. Females who have ever been pregnant are not recruited as platelets donors.
During pregnancy, antibodies may be formed and while these cause no harm to the woman, they should not be passed on to other patients via a transfusion.
SAFETY
The procedure of platelet donation is a very common one and is performed nearly every day .
Kariuki says the risks to the donor are negligible.
"Our staff is highly trained to ensure donor comfort and safety. The machine used for collection is equipped with very sensitive detectors and monitoring parameters," he says.
He says the platelet collection set is sterile and disposable and only used once.
"We don't recycle it to ensure that we don't have any contaminations," he says.