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Follow Your Blood Donation

What happens to your blood once it leaves your arm? Many people may think their whole blood donation goes straight to a patient. There are actually many steps in the next 36 hours that every blood donation must go through before a patient can receive this gift of life. The process is rigorous to ensure that each donation is safe and ready for the patient in need.

Every pint of blood is tracked by the bar code placed on the bag. This bar code will forever be linked with your unit of blood. Each process is documented and tracked until it reaches a patient.

Your blood donation arrives at our Blood Center laboratory in Santa Rosa where it is separated into three components: red cells, platelets, and plasma, which could potentially help three different patients.

Plasma is the liquid portion of your blood that carries nutrients and helps blood to clot. Hemophilia patients need plasma donations to survive. It is also used in pharmaceutical products. Platelets are often used by cancer patients because they are unable to produce enough platelets on their own. Chemotherapy frequently reduces a patient’s platelet count. Red cells carry oxygen throughout the body and helps patients who are anemic due to blood loss from accidents or surgery.

With each donation four sample tubes of blood are collected, and labeled for testing in our laboratory. Our technicians determine your blood type (A, B, AB, or O) and Rh factor (positive or negative). The samples undergo 13 tests, screening for infectious diseases such as HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B and C, as well as for unexpected antibodies that might cause a transfusion reaction.

Red cells, pictured here, can be stored up to 42 days. Platelets need to be used by a patient within 5 days, and two of those days are spent preparing and testing. Plasma can be frozen for up to a year.

After all the tests are performed the blood is prepared for shipment to hospitals. Our staff is available 24/7 for emergency deliveries.

At the hospital, blood components are cross-matched with a patient’s blood. A patient may receive your blood donation a mere 36 hours after you donated it!

The lifesaving blood bag is infused through an IV which flows into the patient’s arm, just as the blood flowed out of your arm. Your heartfelt donation continues its incredible journey bringing strength and hope to a patient during a difficult time.



Health Benefits to Giving Blood

In the September 28, 2008 issue of Parade Magazine, The Practical Guide to Better Health listed 8 Ways to Stay Healthy. The number one way to stay healthy is to give blood.

About 5 million Americans require blood transfusions every year, and there is always a need for blood. Yet it’s estimated that less than 10% of eligible donors actually give. The good news is that donating blood also may make you healthier.

In a recent long-term study of more than a million Scandanavian blood donors, giving blood was found to be linked with a lower risk of cancers (liver, lung, colon, stomach, and throat) in men, with risk dropping as blood donation increased. Blood donation also may reduce the risk of heart disease in men, although it’s not yet clear why this may be true. And there’s no harm in women giving blood, either. You’ll also get a mini-checkup when you give blood, since you’ll have your blood pressure checked, and you’ll be interviewed about your health history. What could be better than helping to save a life while improving your own health in the process?