>From: Alice Ernest <[log in to unmask]>
> A mother of a 3 month old was called and asked to donate some platelets.
> She has done this in the past, but not while nursing a baby. Would
>donating platelets be any different from donating blood? What would the
>recommendations be?
Hi, Alice. Well, donating platelets is quite different than donating whole
blood. Although it is a much more involved procedure, the mother will not
end up with a loss in blood volume as she would if donating a unit of
blood, and I can think of no reason why platelet donation should a problem
for a nursing mom.
While a co-op in nursing school a while back, I worked in platelet pheresis
at the Red Cross, so I can share info about platelets and donation as best
I remember. Platelets are a type of white blood cell, and are used by the
body for clotting. Without platelets, you could not clot. There are lots
of reasons why someone might need platelets, but some major ones would be
certain kinds of cancer and chemotherapy which effect the body's ability to
make it's own platelets in the bone marrow. These patients usually need
platelets in large quantities for short periods of time, until their body
can resume making it's own. It is important that the donor platelets
"match" the patient's platelets as closely as possible- it is sort of like
a bone marrow donor match- they are matching tiny genetic antigens called
HLA (human leukocyte antigens), it has nothing to do with blood
type. Because this mom has donated platelets in the past, her HLA type is
in a database that popped her up as a good match for someone seriously ill
and needing platelets. This is not a generic donation, they specifically
need her platelets if possible.
If you donate "whole blood", you lose a unit of blood and reduce your own
blood and fluid volume- it takes your body several weeks to make up the
lost blood volume. You can only donate whole blood every three months.
When you donate platelets, you only give the platelets and a little bit of
plasma to lubricate them- all the red cells and blood fluid are returned
back to you. It is quite amazing: you sit in a reclining chair for about
two hours. A large needle is inserted into each arm. Small amounts of your
blood flow out (through a closed system- everything is sterile, used once,
then thrown away) and into a centrefuge, the platelets are spun out and
saved, the red cells and most of the plasma is returned back to the donor
via the other needle... so you don't lose much blood volume- and no red
cells- at all. The nifty thing is that your body will just rebuild those
platelets in 24-48 hours, so if need be, in a crisis situation (only
matched donor), one could donate up to two or three times a week without
problem.
If you are a regular blood donor, ask your Red Cross about becoming a
platetet donor. It is a wonderful gift to someone in dire need, and shows
real dedication and commitment on the part of the donor. Even though it
takes a while (1-2 hours) and the two big needles aren't much fun, the
nurses who do the plateletpheresis are always super nice and ply you with
juice and snacks and videos and conversation, and will scratch your nose
for you (since you have needles in both arms).
Funny/gross story: the plasma that gets spun out is usually clear and
yellow, looks like apple juice. Well, one day I was working on this nice
guy (a little chubby) and low and behold, his plasma looked like milk.
White and cloudy. Turns out he had been to Victoria Station's
all-you-can-eat beef ribs night the day before. Let me tell you that is
one way to really drive the cholesterol message home.
More than you wanted to know?
Nancy Holtzman RN BSN IBCLC
Great Beginnings New Mother's Groups
near Boston MA
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