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Post by sneakers (Metro Houston) on Mar 28, 2018 18:28:24 GMT -5
And, in a point of interest to donors, if you have a normal brokerage account you can buy Terumo (TRUMY) stock. It's a Japanese ADR, and it's very thinly traded (an average of 152 shares a day for the past ten trading days). They're kind of the Japanese equivalent of Becton Dickinson (BDX). Among other things I have learned, a majority of the world's apheresis machines are Terumo products. And, among their blood management products is one that was originally designed by IBM. When you look at the front panel of it, it was obviously designed by IBM. The knobs and controls are like those on a System/370 mainframe, which was a contemporary product.
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Post by dilbert3333 on Mar 28, 2018 18:29:29 GMT -5
One more triple units bag of golden juicy platelets. The phlebotomist divided it into two bags after the rinseback was complete. Attachment Deleted
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Post by sneakers (Metro Houston) on Mar 28, 2018 18:34:31 GMT -5
GasBuddy is now socially dead. Forums, messaging, whiteboards all gone. Just call it GasPrices. The forums still work, but only for the news stories. And you can get your daily 500 points by making five comments on news stories. I think the GasBuddy programmers must moonlight fixing swimming pools in Houston. They go out, find things that are broken, and leave them in rather than replace them with something better.
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Post by sneakers (Metro Houston) on Mar 28, 2018 18:40:32 GMT -5
One more triple units bag of golden juicy platelets. The phlebotomist divided it into two bags after the rinseback was complete. They do the same thing here. Probably because the Trima Accel only has two bags for platelets. Taking triples is a fairly recent innovation in transfusion medicine. They say here you lose an average of 650 calories donating a unit of whole blood. Wonder how many I lose doing the usual platelet triple?
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Post by sneakers (Metro Houston) on Mar 28, 2018 18:47:57 GMT -5
Here's a picture of me pumping out the golden nectar of life that was taken by a phlebotomist at The Blood Center in June 2017. If you are observant, I'm wearing a Houston Astros fan T-shirt that mentions that they're part of the National League. However, by the time they won the World Series, they did so representing the American League. Lost that shirt in Hurricane Harvey's flood waters, had to go out and buy a couple of new fan T-shirts. Interestingly enough, the ones I had for the Kansas City Chiefs of the NFL were able to be salvaged.
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Post by FliesSolo on Mar 28, 2018 19:42:43 GMT -5
I am thrilled that you all take time to donate blood and platelets. Many years ago, I was very, very sick and one surgery took not only 12 hours, but 14 units of blood as there was a problem during the procedure with a hemorrhage and the actual surgery itself was stopped for over an hour to control the bleeding!
Without your wonder gifts, I for one would not be here! Thank you!!!
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Post by sneakers (Metro Houston) on Mar 29, 2018 20:52:10 GMT -5
I am thrilled that you all take time to donate blood and platelets. Many years ago, I was very, very sick and one surgery took not only 12 hours, but 14 units of blood as there was a problem during the procedure with a hemorrhage and the actual surgery itself was stopped for over an hour to control the bleeding!
Without your wonder gifts, I for one would not be here! Thank you!!! It's good to hear from the donors! Last August, I came home from the blood bank and stopped at an Exxon C-store close to home. The clerk noticed and told me her Mom had to have a transfusion.
My cousin (mother's brother's daughter) has a hubby that has leukemia. He is totally dependent on platelet donors in Kansas City to sustain his life. I was up there two weeks ago. I was slightly tempted to make a donation there, but because of some of the technical requirements for platelet donation you should always go to the same collection site. i used to go to the one that was most convenient at the time until they told me what they have to do when you go to another one.
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Post by sneakers (Metro Houston) on Mar 29, 2018 20:55:05 GMT -5
Here's a picture of me pumping out the golden nectar of life that was taken by a phlebotomist at The Blood Center in June 2017. If you are observant, I'm wearing a Houston Astros fan T-shirt that mentions that they're part of the National League. However, by the time they won the World Series, they did so representing the American League. Lost that shirt in Hurricane Harvey's flood waters, had to go out and buy a couple of new fan T-shirts. Interestingly enough, the ones I had for the Kansas City Chiefs of the NFL were able to be salvaged. And if you look at the original picture carefully, you can tell the Trima Accel just switched from "return" to "draw." Also, I was about 5% done.
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Post by dilbert3333 on Mar 30, 2018 7:59:54 GMT -5
I am thrilled that you all take time to donate blood and platelets. Many years ago, I was very, very sick and one surgery took not only 12 hours, but 14 units of blood as there was a problem during the procedure with a hemorrhage and the actual surgery itself was stopped for over an hour to control the bleeding!
Without your wonder gifts, I for one would not be here! Thank you!!! It's good to hear from the donors! Last August, I came home from the blood bank and stopped at an Exxon C-store close to home. The clerk noticed and told me her Mom had to have a transfusion.
My cousin (mother's brother's daughter) has a hubby that has leukemia. He is totally dependent on platelet donors in Kansas City to sustain his life. I was up there two weeks ago. I was slightly tempted to make a donation there, but because of some of the technical requirements for platelet donation you should always go to the same collection site. i used to go to the one that was most convenient at the time until they told me what they have to do when you go to another one.
Was it a different agency between your different sites? I've given platelets to Community Blood Services of New Jersey at three of their sites, Lincoln Park, Paramus and Montvale, none of which are near the others, and I haven't had an issue switching back & forth. Their donor records are all central computerized. After Montvale opened up, which is closest to me, I haven't been back to the others except during special promotions there.
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Post by sneakers (Metro Houston) on Mar 30, 2018 11:51:08 GMT -5
It's good to hear from the donors! Last August, I came home from the blood bank and stopped at an Exxon C-store close to home. The clerk noticed and told me her Mom had to have a transfusion.
My cousin (mother's brother's daughter) has a hubby that has leukemia. He is totally dependent on platelet donors in Kansas City to sustain his life. I was up there two weeks ago. I was slightly tempted to make a donation there, but because of some of the technical requirements for platelet donation you should always go to the same collection site. i used to go to the one that was most convenient at the time until they told me what they have to do when you go to another one.
Was it a different agency between your different sites? I've given platelets to Community Blood Services of New Jersey at three of their sites, Lincoln Park, Paramus and Montvale, none of which are near the others, and I haven't had an issue switching back & forth. Their donor records are all central computerized. After Montvale opened up, which is closest to me, I haven't been back to the others except during special promotions there.All Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center, most of the donor records are on the computer. However, they still track the losses of red cells and plasma on paper. They also have to look at the paper to figure out if you can't donate that day because of excessive losses. One time, I went through all the screening (including the fingerstick!) before they realized I couldn't donate. I've watched my donations carefully this year and I expect to be able to donate on my birthday. Post-Harvey, I've been not bored and wanting to go to the blood bank because I didn't have anything better to do.
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Post by dilbert3333 on Apr 3, 2018 6:59:13 GMT -5
Sadly I now have another person to memorialize in my platelet donations. I received word yesterday from my uncle that my last surviving aunt passed away Sunday night. On January 3rd she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer that spread to her liver. She was only given about 3 to 6 months to live at that point. She barely could take the 2 radiation treatments she had and passed peacefully at home.
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Post by sneakers (Metro Houston) on Apr 7, 2018 15:14:09 GMT -5
I heard a mention on the radio this morning of a company called giantmicrobes.com that makes large stuffed models of various microscopic organisms. I ordered a giant plush stuffed platelet from them. In the department of diseases, I also ordered C. diff (had it in 2011) and MRSA (had it in 2017).
Might take my giant platelet to the blood bank to show off to the phlebotomists.
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Post by dilbert3333 on Apr 11, 2018 13:37:40 GMT -5
Next platelet donation is at 4:30 tonight.
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Post by sneakers (Metro Houston) on Apr 11, 2018 19:17:34 GMT -5
Next platelet donation is at 4:30 tonight. How was it? Another triple, or could you only hack a double this time? i almost went yesterday, but my birthday is in two weeks and every year I’ve done platelets, I’ve given my 24 times in the past twelve months and they had to tell me “sorry!” Last year, for various reasons, I was deferred after March 8th to June 16th. First I had lost too many red cells, then I was deferred for six weeks after an operation.
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Post by dilbert3333 on Apr 12, 2018 13:41:35 GMT -5
Next platelet donation is at 4:30 tonight. How was it? Another triple, or could you only hack a double this time? i almost went yesterday, but my birthday is in two weeks and every year I’ve done platelets, I’ve given my 24 times in the past twelve months and they had to tell me “sorry!” Last year, for various reasons, I was deferred after March 8th to June 16th. First I had lost too many red cells, then I was deferred for six weeks after an operation. It was almost a zero. The tech hit scar tissue in my left arm (my regular donor arm) and clogged the needle. But unlike on March 14, no blood was able to enter the machine so the tech was able to patch me up, load a new kit on the Trima (had to pitch everything including the anticoagulant bag) and stick me in the right arm to get another triple. I'll have to switch to using my right arm for a while. When the draw was aborted in March it was at the first return and had too much back pressure. Because they couldn't gauge blood loss with what was in the machine, they are not allowed to stick me again that night in the other arm.
The director stopped by and I asked her about the kits and she said they're about $160 a pop.
I had other good news for them. My employer's charitable foundation gave me a volunteerism award for the 4th quarter of 2017, nominated by one of my buddies for all my platelet donations, and donated $500 to Community Blood in my name. That's in addition to the $100 they donate every time I rack up 10 hours of service to Community. I don't get any tax benefit, just a certificate of recognition, but a bit of pride that because of my platelet donations the blood center is getting some cash too.
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