That's about how long it takes the average person to donate platelets at the American Red Cross, and while they are hooked up to the machine that separates the platelets from their blood, donors can watch a movie, take a nap or just zone out for a while.
“A lot of people come in to just kind of relax,” said Julie Kieckbusch Jones, who works for the Montana Blood Services division of the American Red Cross.
“They bring over a blanket so I can watch my movie and snuggle,” said Hamilton, who has been donating her platelets every few weeks since July.
The donation process is called apheresis. Whole blood is drawn from one arm into a machine that collects only the platelets, then the rest of the blood is returned into the other arm. Since they don't lose any blood, platelet donors do not feel dizzy or fatigued, Kieckbusch Jones said. Some feel a tingling sensation in their lips from the loss of calcium, she added, but that can be easily remedied by taking a calcium supplement, such as Tums.
Many donors feel chilled because the blood that is returned to their system is a degree or two colder than the blood in their bodies, she said. They are given heating pads and blankets to keep comfortably warm.
The platelet donation process requires a needle in each arm, so donors can't hold a book, type on a laptop or do anything else with their hands, she added. That's why the Red Cross center in Missoula offers a respectable library of movies to watch instead.
The time it takes to donate varies according to platelet count, and platelet counts vary from donor to donor and from visit to visit, Kieckbusch Jones explained. Usually, the heavier a person is, the more platelets they have to offer - though the machine does not collect platelets as efficiently from fatty plasma.
Regular donations are necessary because platelets have a shelf life of only five days, she said. They spend two of those days undergoing testing in a lab before they are sent to patients in local hospitals.
Platelets are the clotting component in blood, and they are typically needed by people with certain blood diseases, such as leukemia, and by patients undergoing organ transplants or chemotherapy. A bone marrow transplant patient, for instance, needs one or two units a day for four to six weeks. A person with leukemia might need six to eight units daily for two to four weeks at a time.
“There always has to be a pretty good supply on hand,” Kieckbusch Jones said.
Each donor can make only one donation every two to three weeks, she noted.
“We have people who come in every two weeks, all year long,” she said. “Most of our volunteers, they feel like they're really giving something.”
And they are. For that reason, the Red Cross holds a big banquet every spring for donors who give their platelets six or more times a year. The organization usually invites people who have received donations of platelets to speak at the banquet to give donors a dose of encouragement - a shot in the arm, so to speak.
Now, the American Red Cross in Missoula is holding its first-ever Platelet Donor Week this week to recognize the generosity of those who regularly give their time and their platelets. It is holding drawings for prizes every day, and plans to hold a grand-prize drawing for a digital camera at the end of the week.
The idea is to encourage whole-blood donors to give platelet donation a try while thanking current donors, Kieckbusch Jones said.
“It's a big commitment,” she said. “A lot of people don't mind coming in once, but we're looking for reliable donors who can come back again.”
Kieckbusch Jones searches for new platelet donors from the ranks of current Red Cross whole-blood donors. The requirements to donate platelets are basically the same as for whole-blood donations. Donors also must be adults, weigh at least 110 pounds and have good general health, she said.
“We really try to target people who live within an hour's drive or so,” she added.
Missoula and Great Falls are the only Red Cross centers in Montana that accept platelet donations, she explained. That means some donors drive to Missoula from as far away as Kalispell and Salmon, Idaho. Quite a few donors carpool regularly from the Bitterroot Valley and Seeley Lake areas, Kieckbusch Jones said.
Missoula's Red Cross center, located in the old Creamery Building on Railroad Street, is set up to take two platelet donations at a time.
That's a good thing for Maria and Peter Van Loben Sels, who drive in from the Potomac once a month to donate their platelets together. This week, Maria marked her 90th platelet donation and Peter gave his 94th.
“The hardest part is trying to stay awake,” said Peter, who is among the 1 percent of the population with an AB negative blood type.
In fact, he usually nods off before the donation is through, he added with a grin.
The retired couple usually spends the rest of the day running errands in Missoula, he said, so it's no hardship to drive into town and spend an hour or two relaxing while doing something that also benefits others.
“It does something for other people,” Maria Van Loben Sels explained. “We're just lucky that we're healthy enough to do it.”
Reporter Tyler Christensen can be reached at 523-5215 or tyler.christensen@lee.net.
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