Who Needs My Platelets?

... a child with leukemia;
... a woman undergoing chemotherapy for cancer;
... a man who needs open heart surgery;
... a person who needs an organ transplant;
... people whose bone marrow is not functioning properly.

Blood is drawn from your arm and passed through a collection kit in a blood-separating machine.The machine separates and retains some of your platelets. The rest of your blood - about 95% - is returned to you, through your other arm.

This life-saving procedure takes about 2 hours. You can relax in a comfortable reclining chair and watch television or your favorite videotape, listen to music, or rest while you donate.

Yes, It's Safe!

Your blood never touches the machine.  Each donation is collected in a prepackaged, sterile, disposable kit that is used once and destroyed.

As with any blood donation, you cannot contract AIDS or any other blood-transmitted disease during an apheresis donation.

Samples of your blood will always be tested in our laboratory before your platelets are transfused to a patient.

One of our trained staff members will be with you throughout your donation.

You can resume normal activities after donating platelets.