Types Of Blood Donations

Blood donations can be life-saving. Every day thousands of people donate blood to save many lives. The “blood cancer donor” route is an important way to procure blood for a cancer patient who needs blood urgently. When you want to donate blood, you need to eat a well-balanced meal and get adequate sleep before the day of making the payment. You should also drink more fluids (that are noncaffeinated and nonalcoholic). When you go to a donor center, you may be asked to provide your driver’s license, the list of medications (that you are currently taking), as well as your blood donor card. Other forms can be used for identification.

Requirements Related to Blood Donation

A person who donates blood has to register for it. Subsequently, the heart rate, body temperature, and blood cancer bone marrow transplant of the donor are checked and recorded. The donor may also be required to fill up a questionnaire, where he/she is probed upon the travel and other behaviors that may make the person more prone to the diseases.

Blood donations are usually carried out in reclining chairs. However, a donor may also be required to lie on a table. A sterile needle is put into a clean area of the arm of the blood donor. Blood is removed from the vein in approximately 15 minutes, and 1 unit of blood is obtained. You may be required to sit for a short period to ensure that you are feeling well. The donor may be also provided a light snack or a fruit juice (or some other drink) before he/she leave.

Type of Blood Donation

Today there are many different kinds of blood donations. Some of the important variations are given below.

Volunteer Blood Donation

Most of the donated blood is obtained from a bone marrow transplant blood type match, which is not related or connected to the person to whom is the blood is administered later on. The blood that is obtained from the volunteer donors and the blood units are later separated into the blood components before they are stored.

Blood Product Donation

The process through which individual components of blood (such as platelets) are donated is called “apheresis”. It is a kind of blood donation where a donor can only donate a single component of blood. Apart from platelets, white blood cells, red blood cells, and blood plasma may also be collected through this method. The other components of the blood are administered back to the blood donor, via a blood vein located in the other arm. How long is bone marrow donation recovery? This procedure is of a longer duration and may take approximately two hours in most cases.

A blood donor who is undergoing the apheresis procedure may feel the sensation of tingling around the nose and the lip areas of the mouth. He/she may also feel cold. However, all the sensations and feelings are gone as soon as the procedure is completed.

Autologous Donation

A person can donate his or her blood for later use, which is called an autologous donation. The process is usually carried out some weeks before a scheduled surgery has to be carried out. Surgeries may require transfusion of blood. The blood that the donor loses during the surgery is replaced by his or her blood later on. It is one of the safest methods of blood donation, as no problems related to blood compatibility occur.

Other Donations

There are also certain other donation methods and types including “paid donations” and the “directed donations”. Donors may be paid for the plasma of blood. However other kinds of paid donations (for purposes related to transfusion) are not allowed in the USA. Directed donations are blood donations where a friend, family member, or certain patients donate the blood.

Conclusion

There are multiple blood donation resources including the American Red Cross, Blood Centers, and the American Association of Blood Banks available. You can reach out to the centers for the requirement. It is also advised that you have the phone numbers of the blood banks with you, in case an emergency occurs.

 

Contact Us:

Gift of Life Marrow Registry

Address: 800 Yamato Rd suite 101 Boca Raton, FL
Phone: (800) 962-7769

Things to Know About Bone Marrow Transplant

Is any of your family members scheduled to go through a bone marrow transplant? Are you wondering what the entire process is all about? A bone marrow transplant helps in replacing damaged or destroyed stem cells with healthier cells. With this, a person’s body can produce an adequate amount of white blood cells, red blood cells, or platelets that prevent anemia or bleeding disorders, infections, etc. This article tells you details about the process.

What is meant by Bone Marrow Transplant?

It is a form of medical procedure which is typically performed to substitute a damaged or almost destroyed bone marrow. The process involves the transplantation of blood stem cells that go to the bone marrow to generate new blood cells helping in the growth of new marrow.

What are its different types?

Autologous Transplants

In these transplants, a person’s own stem cells are used. Before beginning with the damaging therapy, these transplants involve harvesting the cells. Once the treatment is over, the cells are returned to the patient’s body again. However, this kind of transplant is not always feasible. This can be done only if the patient possesses healthy bone marrow.

Allogeneic Transplants

These transplants require a donor to take the cells from. An important thing should be kept in mind here. In cases of such transplants, the donor must be a close genetic match. For this, a compatible relative is the most appropriate and preferred choice. You can also find genetic matches from a donor registry.

The success of such transplants depends on the close match of the donor cells with that of the patient’s. The closer the match, the more effective the transplant is.

How to get ready for Bone Marrow Transplant?

Before transplantation, the patient goes through several tests to find out the type of bone marrow cells required. In some cases, radiation or chemotherapy can also be given to a patient to destroy all the cancerous marrow cells before getting new stem cells.

Just a few days before the transplant, the patient will be given a tube-like structure known as a central venous catheter. This will be attached to a vein in the patient’s chest. This will be used to take blood and give medications. This tube will remain until the treatment is completed.

What is the procedure of Bone Marrow Transplant?

The process will start with conditioning. Generally, this includes a high dose of chemotherapy for about 10 days. This may or may not be accompanied by radiation. This process differs from person to person and depends largely on the overall health condition of the person undergoing treatment.

Conditioning promotes the growth of new cells in the blood cancer bone marrow transplant. After this, the patient goes under complete rest for a few days.

After this, the patient receives new blood stem cells with the help of the central venous catheter. As soon as the new cells arrive at the marrow, they grow into RBCs, WBCs, and platelets. This process of engraftment can take around 2-4 weeks.

 

Gift of Life Marrow Registry Also Offers Following Services :

Stem Cell Donation Near Me

Bone Marrow Registry Age

Bone Marrow Match Registry

Contact US:

Gift of Life Marrow Registry
Address:  800 Yamato Rd suite 101  Boca Raton, FL
Phone: (800) 962-7769