I wanted to take this opportunity to share a few words with all of our wonderful and dedicated platelet donors about abnormal platelet and white blood cell results.

Every time you donate platelets, we test your platelet count and white blood cell count. Every time. This is required by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Many of you never know what your results are, since we do not tell you unless your result is abnormal.

Sometimes a low or high platelet or white blood cell count can be an indicator of a more serious medical condition. If that’s the case, we’ll call you to discuss what you can do to remedy your counts. That remedy often involves being retested or visiting your own physician to ensure that you are healthy and well enough to continue donating.

I can’t stress the point enough: your safety is always our first priority.

For those of you who have had an abnomal count and have had to be retested or have had to see your doctor: I appreciate how quickly you have accomplished these tasks. You do our community an amazing service by donating. Thank you for your commitment to the platelet program.

«JoAnn Wilson
Apheresis Manager
Stanford Blood Center
650-724-6772

 

Frequent Flyer Changes»
We're putting new measures in place to ensure your safety

If you are one of our dedicated platelet pheresis donors, you know that we keep careful records of how much you donate and how often in the familiar Annual Donor Records that are kept in your chart. We have been manually tracking your red blood cell (RBC) loss and making sure you are within the 24 platelet donations per year limit. The 24 visits refer to platelet pheresis procedures, not products per procedure nor whole blood donations.

Recent guidelines from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have required us to also track the amount of plasma loss in a 12-month period. The fluid loss limits for platelet pheresis donors are:

• 12,000 mL (12 liters) of plasma for donors between 110 and 175 lbs.
• 14,400 mL (14.4 liters) of plasma for donors over 175 lbs.
• 1,620 mL (1.62 liters) of RBCs for everyone

The guidelines are specific about the number of platelet donations in a “rolling 12-month period” versus a “calendar year.” The calendar year (January to December) wipes the slate clean every January. The “rolling 12-month period” keeps moving forward and it counts the fluid losses and number of visits in the exact 12 months prior to your current donation.

We recently implemented an electronic method of tracking the RBC and plasma losses and the number of platelet donations. The calculations are more accurate and give the totals for the 12-month period before your current donation. It is in compliance with the FDA and more accurate because the slate is not wiped clean every January.

This change in how we track the 24 visit limit has caught our most frequent donors a little over the limit and we are rescheduling and adjusting their visits so they can be within limits again. If you are one of our “frequent flyers” please know that we love your dedication. You are invaluable to our patients and we respect your commitment.

Within the prescribed limits, we will tailor collections with you to maximize their benefit to patients and the research community on the basis of your particular characteristics. We want to ensure your continued good health, comply with safety regulations and keep you donating forever.

—Jacqueline Miranda, Technical Project Manager, Stanford Blood Center

• Read the related FDA guidance here.

 

Platelet donors like you help people like Alvina»

Alvina lives in Pacifica. She has a bachelor’s degree in Broadcasting and a masters in Education. When she’s not teaching pre-schoolers at the Jewish Community Center, she loves playing volleyball every chance she gets—with leagues, her friends, whoever wants to play. Alvina also received regular blood transfusions because of aplastic anemia—a disease that causes the body to under-produce red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. The transfusions gave her more strength and energy and helped prevent internal bleeding. “When my platelet count is below 100, my doctor says I can’t play volleyball or go to the gym,” she said. “I don’t stop, though, I just slow down. I come to Stanford for a transfusion if I need it, and get back to my life.”

 

Click the image to view this newsletter as a PDF.