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

Pros And Cons Of Bone Marrow Transplant For Leukemia

You might have come across patients suffering from sickle anemia who have no other option but to go in for bone marrow transplant. Whether it is sickle cell anemia or other types of blood disorders and blood cancers, there are reasons to believe that bone marrow transplant could be the only option. When a person suffers from acute anemia including sickle cell anemia, over a period of time, his or her life could be under threat. This is because this form of anemia and other forms of blood cancers lead to a massive shortage of white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. We need to understand these healthy cells are made in our bone marrow. The bone marrow is located within the hollow of our bones and they produce healthy red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets amongst other things. When a person gets impacted by various blood disorders, the bone marrow does not produce healthy cells and this leads to anemia and other problems.

What Are The Causes?

There are many reasons for the malfunctioning of the bone marrow transplant blood type match. It could be because of various forms of cancer, some hereditary blood conditions, side effects and reactions of some medicines, amongst other reasons. Hence, there is a need to correct the situation or else the patients could slip into severe anemia and face an acute shortage of blood cells and platelets.

What Is Leukemia Bone Marrow Transplant

Leukemia is a form of blood cancer where the healthy cells are destroyed by marauding cancer cells. This happens across the body and the bone marrow, in particular, is impacted very badly. Hence, the best option is to replace the damaged bone marrow cells with healthy ones. This is what leukemia bone marrow transplant is all about. This results in the bone marrow being able to produce healthy cells. A combination of other treatments with healthy bone marrow cells could help in retrieving the situation of the patient and might also reverse the symptoms and conditions associated with a bone marrow transplant.

Pros Of Bone Marrow Transplant

  •    It helps in replacing sick and damaged bone marrow cells with new ones.
  •    It could assist in overcoming the conditions and symptoms associated with leukemia and other forms of blood cancer.
  •    The process is simple and not very painful or complicated.
  •    The patient need not spend days in the hospital for any type of bone marrow transplantation.
  •    The success rate of bone marrow transplantation is quite encouraging.
  •    With newer technologies and methods, the process is not as expensive and cost-prohibitive as it was a few years ago.

Cons Of Bone Marrow Transplant

  •    Risk of rejection continues to be a major problem with a bone marrow transplant. The rejection can happen immediately or even after many weeks and months. Hence, there is a need to closely monitor the condition of the patient post such transplants.
  •    Risk of infection is another problem that continues to bother doctors and patients alike. Here again close and regular monitoring of the patient for the first few days and months is the only way out.

 

Contact US:

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