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What is Apheresis?
An apheresis donation
involves giving one component of blood, usually platelets, but also plasma
or red cells. During the apheresis procedure, blood is drawn from your
arm and passed through a collection kit in a blood-separating machine that
separates and collects the platelets, plasma, or red cells and returns the
rest of your blood to you. It is an extremely valuable donation.
A platelet donation
yields 6-10 times the platelets that can be given during a whole blood
donation. As new advances in technology develop, the need for single
donor platelet donations is rising. Platelets are used frequently for
cancer, open heart surgery, and organ transplant patients.
 People
with certain blood types may be asked to make a donation of plasma and/or
red cells with a platelet apheresis donation. Plasma from people with
type AB blood is particularly valuable as AB plasma can be given to
virtually everyone. Red cells from people with types O negative, A
negative, and B negative are also valuable since these are the types of
red cells that are chronically in short supply.
People with all blood
types are needed for platelet apheresis donations. If you have a
particularly high platelet count, we may ask you to give a double - or
even a triple-platelet donation!
When you arrive to
donate, our experienced technicians will determine your platelet count and
talk with you about the best donation for you to make. This is determined
by your platelet count, your blood type, your height and weight, and
patient need.
Contact
Marty Slater at 973-676-4700 ext 197 or email him at
mslater@bloodnj.org for information
More information on
apheresis
The Blood Center of New
Jersey
45 South Grove Street
East Orange, New Jersey 07018
1-800-NJBLOOD
1-973-676-4700
Copyright © 2001-2003 by The Blood Center of New Jersey. All rights reserved.
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