Reviewed by Leeza Eguerra, blood financial institution supervisor at Rady Youngsters’s Hospital Orange County (Rady Youngsters’s)
Find out about every step of the donated blood journey
Whenever you donate blood at Rady Youngsters’s, it begins an essential journey lengthy after you permit the donation middle. Every reward of donated blood goes by cautious processing and security testing to make sure it’s protected, efficient and able to assist sufferers in want. From screening and separating blood into lifesaving parts to storing and distributing it, we design each step to guard recipients and make the best attainable influence.
For youngsters who’re sick, injured, or want particular medical care, donated blood may be life-changing. Each drop follows this fastidiously guided journey to assist children heal, develop stronger, and really feel higher.
Step one: Donation
A caring, eligible donor is available in for his or her blood donation appointment.
- They reply a number of well being questions and full a quick bodily to examine their general well being.
- We gather about one pint of donated blood, together with a number of small take a look at tubes for security testing. The method takes solely eight to 10 minutes.
- We label the whole lot with matching barcodes so we are able to observe the blood safely.
- We hold the donated blood cool and ship it to a processing middle, whereas we ship the take a look at tubes to the lab.
Step two: Processing
On the processing middle, we fastidiously put together the donated blood to assist as many kids as attainable.
- First, we take away white blood cells to cut back the prospect of reactions in younger sufferers.
- We separate the blood into parts: pink blood cells and plasma.
- We package deal every part into a normal “unit” that medical doctors can use when caring for kids.
Step three: Testing
Security is essential, particularly for children.
- A 3rd-party laboratory performs the testing.
- The laboratory sends again outcomes shortly, often inside 24 to 48 hours.
- If an issue arises, we don’t use the donated blood and notify the donor privately.
Step 4: Storage
After finishing testing, we retailer the donated blood till sufferers want it.
- We hold pink blood cells refrigerated for as much as 35 days at Rady Youngsters’s, with out components.
- We retailer platelets at room temperature and gently agitate them to maintain them contemporary for as much as seven days.
- Plasma and cryo are frozen and may be saved for as much as a yr.
Step 5: Transfusion
That is the place donated blood makes an actual distinction.
- Medical doctors determine if a little one wants a transfusion and which part of the blood will assist most.
- Crimson blood cells assist kids with anemia or after surgical procedure really feel stronger and get extra oxygen.
- Platelets assist kids whose our bodies can’t make sufficient on their very own, similar to throughout most cancers remedy.
- Plasma helps kids with severe infections, burns or liver issues.
Why donated blood issues for teenagers and teenagers
Youngsters and teenagers combating most cancers, untimely infants within the NICU, trauma sufferers within the emergency division, and other people present process surgical procedures and different medical procedures want blood transfusions.
Every pint of donated complete blood can save as much as three lives. Think about turning into a blood donor this Nationwide Blood Donor Month.
