Platelets! (blood donation pimpage)

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Freeman said:
Do you have an MSN? I'd love to chat to you about it, never met someone with the same condition, ITP, as me.

nykampmp AT hotmail DOT COM
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added you m8y :) its a very rare condition that affects i think 1 in every 100,000 people my Doc didnt even know about it

have you had any immunoglobulin bottles ? that i was told was very very expensive ive lost count at the number ive had , im due more before i go into hospital for my spleen removal so that there will be no complications
 
badboy said:
added you m8y :) its a very rare condition that affects i think 1 in every 100,000 people my Doc didnt even know about it

have you had any immunoglobulin bottles ? that i was told was very very expensive ive lost count at the number ive had , im due more before i go into hospital for my spleen removal so that there will be no complications
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I have had roughly 90 bottles or so.
I used to go in for 1 week at a time, and each day they dripped in 3 bottles, i went into hospital and stayed for 5 days about 5 weeks over the year.
I still have my condition, but it's not as bad, they did suggest removing my spleen but they also said i would need to be on medication for several months, and would catch just about every cold, flu and virus ging around, so me and my family said no as at that time my ITP had settled.
 
Some updates:

1) I was wrong above: it is anyone who has received a blood donation since 1980 who can no longer give blood.

2) I've just given donation number 335. Sorry, but I like boasting as much as the next man... :D

3) I asked the nurse about triple donations and he told me that I'd been doing those since June. Duh - doubles take about an hour and ten minutes, no ninety minutes means a triple! As above, add about half an hour to those times for the total time you'll be in the clinic.

4) There is now a VERY severe shortage of reliable platelet donors. I found this out when I was booking an appointment and found that the centre is open on Boxing Day. So all you whole blood donors should consider it, but make sure you can get to one of the major centres where it is done at least once a month. As for the non-donors, only medical excuses are accepted - "I don't like needles" is NOT a reasonable excuse. As you can see, Lostkat is deffo not a fan, but she turns up. Please donate: it's one thing that you can do that really does help others.


M
 
From what they were saying when I went recently, the Local Health Authority has set them targets to move more people on to platelets, and have fewer whole blood sessions. I think it was something like 40% platelets to 80% platelets over the next few years.
The problem they seem to have is that the new needles are quite a bit shorter than the old ones so they have very little leeway to adjust them if they hit a 'valve' in your arm and get poor flow. I never knew I had valves in blood vessels.

They used to offer local anaesthetics, but I found that needle hurt more than the main one! Now they just did the alcohol wipe then iodine with no local.
 
I'm oddly squeamish about blood vessels, but I've been convinced to do my bit.

I think I'll stick with just the basic blood donation first, then maybe consider platelets and others at a later time.
 
cootuk said:
From what they were saying when I went recently, the Local Health Authority has set them targets to move more people on to platelets, and have fewer whole blood sessions. I think it was something like 40% platelets to 80% platelets over the next few years.
The problem they seem to have is that the new needles are quite a bit shorter than the old ones so they have very little leeway to adjust them if they hit a 'valve' in your arm and get poor flow. I never knew I had valves in blood vessels.

They used to offer local anaesthetics, but I found that needle hurt more than the main one! Now they just did the alcohol wipe then iodine with no local.
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You have valves in veins to stop back flow, i.e. the blood flowing the wrong way.

IIRC they're not even allowed to adjust the needle anymore, or if they are, it's just once.

Off to give platelets tonight. Here begins a day of drinking tonnes of water and eating lots of fruit :D
 
locutus12 said:
I wish i could but it turns out im not allowed to even though im perfectly healthy and have never had any diseases :( evil bloody torys.
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They are not intentionally discriminatory. They have legitimate reasons behind all of the exemptions they put in place, to guarantee as high a quality blood as possible. I understand it must be frustrating to be told that you can't donate, but you need to understand that they're not doing it just to be awkward.
 
Giving blood is something I feel virtually every able bodied person should do, it costs nothing yet it really is needed :)

...Reminds me, must chase up the local centre, they don't send me letters anymore either. :confused:
 
I'm going tonight, 4th time :). I'll ask about platelets, but is there special equipment for that? They come over to the island in a couple of lorries 3 times a year so probably just bring the basic equipment.
 
AndrewP said:
I'm going tonight, 4th time :). I'll ask about platelets, but is there special equipment for that? They come over to the island in a couple of lorries 3 times a year so probably just bring the basic equipment.
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Yes.

Platelet donation involves more of a committment from the donating person as you can donate them every two weeks as during the process you get your liquid blood and red blood cells back.

It involves being hooked up to a machine that draws out your blood and spins it in a centrifugal drum that separates the platelets out and diverts them off into a collection bag and them your liquid blood and red blood cells are given back to you. The process often takes over an hour and it does with me as I give triple donations due to usually having a high platelet count.

Thats the difference between donating blood and platelets is that when you donate blood, you donate a lot of red blood cells. It takes about 24-48 hours to get your liquid blood back, but up to 3 months to get your red blood cells back so that is why you have to wait.

A committment it certainly is. I travel about 12 miles to donate but it is not comparable to the good that it does and the lives that it saves.
 
AndrewP said:
I'm going tonight, 4th time :). I'll ask about platelets, but is there special equipment for that?
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Yes: the cell separators used are only kept in a few major donor centres (there's only one in Cambridgeshire for instance) and IIRC that adds up to about twenty places in the UK.


M
 
Well, I've just come back from an intense orange-squash drinking session and have a plaster and a big yellow circle on my arm to show for it :D

Have also submitted a blood sample for testing so I can get myself on the bone marrow donor's register, and filled in the form :)
 
I had a cup of tea and two mint Clubs afterwards - spoiled my dinner :p. Got my 'three times promise' pin for this year aswell :)
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