December is a month of holidays that are often associated with gift giving. It seems as though most of us go around frantically looking for suitable gifts around this time. Every year we spend much time, energy and money in buying a gift, hoping to bring happiness to someone special in our life. Here is a great gift idea that we would love to share with all of you: Platelet Donation! Although this gift does not come with a price tag, it is as valuable as the giving of a new life. Many of us wish we were doctors so we could save lives and cure diseases. But we don't all have to be doctors to save lives. We can, by our selfless act of donating blood, we make make a difference. With this thought in mind, here are a few facts about platelets and the procedure to donate the same.

Platelets are a component of our blood that control bleeding and help blood to clot. Patients undergoing treatment for leukemia, cancer and marrow transplant need large quantities of platelets for an extended period of time. Only a single tablespoon of platelets can be collected from a unit of whole blood and six whole blood donations are needed to provide a single platelet transfusion. However, one apheresis donation can provide enough platelets for one complete transfusion. Platelets can be stored only for five days. This makes platelets a very precious component of blood.

Apheresis (pronounced ay-fur-see-sis) is a special kind of blood donation that allows a donor to give specific blood components, such as platelets, plasma, etc.. During apheresis, whole blood is collected by a needle and is passed through a machine called the "cell separator". The whole blood is spun in this machine to separate platelets, plasma and red blood cells and a predetermined amount of the platelets is collected. The red blood cells and plasma are then returned to the donor. Donors can watch a movie, listen to music or read something during this procedure. Platelets donation takes around two hours including the preliminary health interview, medical checkup and the refreshment time.

Since our body replenishes platelets very quickly, we may donate platelets by apheresis as frequently as every two weeks. Apheresis donations receive a specific blood typing called HLA typing, so donors and patients can be matched more closely. Type A blood is the universal donor for platelets in much the same way as Type O blood is the universal donor for whole blood donation. A few of us young adults engage this seva on a regular basis and there is an extremely nice feeling in knowing that we too can save a life. The discomfort that one goes through during the donation process is very minimal and is often forgotten by the time we leave the donor center. All it needs from us is a standing commitment to donate frequently and to share this idea to others we know. If we put our minds to it, we too can Save a Life!

So let us act today, make a difference in someone’s life and in the process GIVE THE GIFT OF LIFE !

For more info on Apheresis and eligibility criteria, please visit http://www.newenglandblood.org/giving/