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Any platelet donors here? I have been giving frequently for the last 10 years since one of my favorite cousins died of leukemia and I learned how important platelets are.
Anyway, last Tuesday I gave a bag of platelets. On Tuesday my friend's mother (who is taking chemo) needed a platelet transfusion. She is at the hospital where the donor center I go to sends their product.
Now I have no way of knowing if she got mine but it really hit close to home knowing she COULD have. Made me feel pretty good about doing the donations.....
I gave blood religiously for years until I was actively involved with the Haitians in the 90's. These folks were known to carry a variety of horrible diseases and no one would take my blood for years.
I've been giving blood since I was 17. I'm going to give this afternoon and it will be my
9th gallon. I just love the hamsalad sandwiches you get after donating.
I'm approaching my second gallon... I have taken a few units over the years as well, and my blood type is one of the more rare one... A-
It is nice to know others do the same, since neither time were planned ahead.
Gave on 9/11 to the Red Cross. Got a nice letter a couple of weeks later thanking me .
I was also notified that they had to destroy my donation due to the fact that I had Hep C. The VA verified the diagnosis. I contracted it when I was a combat medic.
I am now virus free after being treated by the VA.
The treatment took years and was a misery.
However I am banned from donating blood for the rest of my life.
No platelets yet from me. I give a pint every 2-months to the Red Cross. After a number of years I just filled up a card (2 gallons?) early this year. I demanded the 2-gallon pin too!
If you donate the platelets, do you have to wait 4-months to return?
How 'bout that series of questions you have to answer? Man, this has to really weed out a number of people.
Believe it or not, you can donate platelets every six days. Used to be every three. It takes 100 minutes for me once the needle is in. The questions are a pain but I have gotten used to it. Worth it for the free cookies.
I have given many gallons of blood. where I am now it is only the mobile blood bus that comes around and they never notify me when they are coming. so I only get to donate when I see them and have enough time to donate. for me to do platelets is 100 mile drive one way!