Apheresis Sounds Scary But Isn’t
I normally give blood every eight weeks at my church, but I missed the last donation due to vacation. Inova caught up with me via email though, and I donated Tuesday at Reston Town Center.
During my interview, the phlebotomist asked me whether I’d be interested in donating my red blood cells through apheresis, rather than just the standard pint of whole blood. I’d heard of the procedure, but only as it is used to donate platelets or plasma. Using the dual red blood cell procedure, I would be able to donate twice the number of the red blood cells normally contained in a pint of blood, which would make for a more useful donation for someone in need. I had two questions: How much longer does it take, and does it hurt more? (I know, a real tough guy.) Satisfied with the answers (about 15 minutes for a total of 30, and not at all), I agreed.
It was an interesting experience. What appeared to be a standard needle was used to draw my blood, and a blood pressure cuff was placed on my bicep above the donation site. The technician explained that my blood would be drawn in four cycles, each consisting of the removal of my whole blood, followed by the return of my plasma and platelets, less my red blood cells. Here’s where the blood pressure cuff went beyond its standard role: During the draw portion of the cycle, if the apheresis unit sensed a decrease in flow because I wasn’t pumping the little ball I was given hard enough, the cuff would tighten slightly, increasing the flow.
At the end of the draw portion, the cuff would completely relax, and the apheresis unit, having removed my red blood cells via centrifusion, would start pumping the remaining plasma and platelets back through the same needle. The color of the incoming fluid was almost clear with a slight yellowish tinge.
I experienced no discomfort beyond the usual needle stick, which wasn’t painful at all due to the technician’s skill. (Thanks Margaret!) She did warn me, though, that I might feel some tingling in my lips from the anti-coagulant that’s added to the plasma before it’s returned. I did experience some tingling but it wasn’t uncomfortable. She also said that I wouldn’t be able to donate either whole blood or red blood cells for 16 weeks instead of the eight weeks required for whole blood because of the longer time needed to replenish the greater volume of red blood cells and iron removed. She said the only problem for Inova with this is that it “knocks out” the donor for twice the amount of time. I told her she should consider another choice of words to describe the donor’s condition following the donation!
Within 30 minutes, as promised, I was up munching cookies and sipping apple juice. According to Dr. Susan Galel at the Stanford Blood Center, red blood cell donors feel better after donating than whole blood donors do because of the saline solution that is added to the return flow to make up for the volume lost by removing the red blood cells. I felt fine for the remainder of the day, as if I had donated the standard pint.
If you’re a regular blood donor, consider donating red blood cells next time if you can. Red blood cells are the most used blood components in surgery or after trauma involving substantial blood loss, such as car accidents.
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