By Amy Wilson/amy.wilson@westsidestar.net
Local residents recently donated blood at a drive held Friday, June 19 at Kent Memorial Lutheran Church. See the Kent Memorial Lutheran Church blood drive photo gallery for pictures of this event.
Community Blood Center of the Ozarks utilized an apheresis machine for the first time at this location, church organizer Dee Ann DeJarnette said.
According to the American Red Cross, this machine separates the blood into different portions. A selected portion can be then taken while returning the rest of the blood to the donor.
The CBCO does two types of apheresis collections, plateletphereis and double red cells, according to its Web site.
Plateletphereis is a platelet donation and takes one to two hours because extra time is needed to separate the components and collect the platelets, which are used for patients who are undergoing treatment of such diseases as leukemia, cancer and aplastic anemia and for patients who may have uncontrolled bleeding. Generally a person may donate platelets as often as every 48 hours but no more than 24 times a year, the site said.
A double red cell donation allows a donor to give two units of red blood cells at one time, according to the CBCO.
This procedure takes about an hour. Donors need a certain iron level and a different height to weight ratio than is required for a regular donation. Donors are not allowed to give blood again for 112 days.
See www.cbco.org for more information on apheresis collections.
Sunrise Beach, Mo. —
