|
Post by sneakers (Metro Houston) on Aug 18, 2021 12:05:56 GMT -5
Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center allows the fully vaxxed to donate mask optional. They might change. But I'm now to the point where I'm fourteen months from the last donation. Go see the cardiologist Friday, may discuss whether I'm good enough to go donate. But they usually defer people with congestive heart failure. Wonder if I'd get short of breath while donating.
|
|
|
Post by dilbert3333 on Aug 20, 2021 6:52:51 GMT -5
I'm so exhausted from this week at the office that I cancelled my Saturday donor appointment and put it off for a week. Early yesterday morning we were awakened in the middle of the night by emergency alerts on our phones with tornado warnings - FOUR TIMES. And we lost power at the house which caused the UPS units to sing the songs of their people - BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP.....................BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP.....................BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP.....................BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP..................... until power came back a couple of minutes later. This was all between 2 AM and 4:30 AM. And the having to get up in the middle of the night to pee from drinking lots of water to try to be healthier and avoid more gout flare-ups. That was my 3:15 wake-up today. PSA tests have all been good so no issues there.
|
|
kyle
New Member
Posts: 1
|
Post by kyle on Aug 25, 2021 17:43:54 GMT -5
Hello everyone,
It's good to be with people as passionate about platelet donation as I am. I'm a newbie (I'm going for my fourth donation soon) and I had a question: If I'm not mistaken, both Dilbert and Sneakers donate triples about every two weeks. When I donate triples at Robert Wood Johnson in Central New Jersey, they tell me I can only donate once a month due to plasma loss. Does anyone know why that is?
|
|
|
Post by sneakers (Metro Houston) on Aug 25, 2021 22:51:42 GMT -5
Hello everyone, It's good to be with people as passionate about platelet donation as I am. I'm a newbie (I'm going for my fourth donation soon) and I had a question: If I'm not mistaken, both Dilbert and Sneakers donate triples about every two weeks. When I donate triples at Robert Wood Johnson in Central New Jersey, they tell me I can only donate once a month due to plasma loss. Does anyone know why that is? There are three limits on how much you can lose in a donation: red blood cells, plasma, and platelets. Sounds like Robert Wood Johnson takes more plasma with the platelets than some of the other blood banks do. Also, the amount of plasma you can lose is a year depends on your size. And as to me, I haven't donated since June 2020 thanks to congestive heart failure. I'd probably pass out if I tried.
|
|
|
Post by sneakers (Metro Houston) on Aug 26, 2021 14:07:40 GMT -5
Hello everyone, It's good to be with people as passionate about platelet donation as I am. I'm a newbie (I'm going for my fourth donation soon) and I had a question: If I'm not mistaken, both Dilbert and Sneakers donate triples about every two weeks. When I donate triples at Robert Wood Johnson in Central New Jersey, they tell me I can only donate once a month due to plasma loss. Does anyone know why that is? Another factoid: the amount of plasma you can lose depends on your weight (one of the reasons they weigh you before you donate platelets). Big donors can safely lose more plasma per year than small donors.
|
|
|
Post by dilbert3333 on Aug 30, 2021 8:27:36 GMT -5
Hello everyone, It's good to be with people as passionate about platelet donation as I am. I'm a newbie (I'm going for my fourth donation soon) and I had a question: If I'm not mistaken, both Dilbert and Sneakers donate triples about every two weeks. When I donate triples at Robert Wood Johnson in Central New Jersey, they tell me I can only donate once a month due to plasma loss. Does anyone know why that is? Welcome aboard, Kyle! I'm guessing blood banks are tightening the screws on plasma loss. Some plasma is taken as a carrier for the platelets. I used to donate primarily at Vitalant of NJ and one year I gave over 60 units of platelets within a 12 month period (2019) and no deferral. After only 46 units or so to New York Blood Center within 12 months they deferred me from the end of November 2020 until January 4, 2021. I gave two triples in january and two triples in February and they deferred me after that until JUNE 20! One of the screeners at NYBC told me they have clamped down on plasma loss. It used to be the RBC (red cell count) that got me deferred as some reds inevitably do not rinse back and are left in the tubing and cassette, and a couple of times I had machine failures that left a lot of reds unreturned thus deferring me as if I had given a pint of whole blood - had to sit several weeks.
|
|
|
Post by dilbert3333 on Sept 7, 2021 9:27:35 GMT -5
Going back for another platelets donation on 9/11.
|
|
|
Post by sneakers (Metro Houston) on Sept 7, 2021 9:43:11 GMT -5
Going back for another platelets donation on 9/11. Four years ago, the first donation I made after Hurricane Harvey was on 9/11. They were unable to collect blood from Saturday to the next Wednesday, then they had a rush of donors to catch up. 9/11 was the first day I could get to the blood bank (two drivers, one working vehicle, and my housemate needed mobility more than I did). It was also the first day they weren't swamped with donors.
|
|
|
Post by dilbert3333 on Sept 13, 2021 13:06:38 GMT -5
I got in my triple-unit platelets donation on Saturday 9/11/21.
Saturday's appointment brings me to 594 units of platelets (218 appointments) I have donated with my first unit given on 10/27/2010. I hope to hit 600 units before my eleventh anniversary of being a platelets donor.
|
|
|
Post by dilbert3333 on Sept 14, 2021 14:06:46 GMT -5
Nex platelets appointment is September 25
|
|
|
Post by sneakers (Metro Houston) on Sept 17, 2021 14:28:19 GMT -5
Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center was unable to collect donations Monday and Tuesday because of Hurricane Nicholas. So, if you're in the Houston area and able to donate, it would be appreciated!
Also, fifteen months has passed since my last donation and they cancelled the five donor points I had. Not much of a loss, it takes 75 to get anything.
|
|
|
Post by dilbert3333 on Sept 20, 2021 9:10:21 GMT -5
After my last platelets appointment I had enough hours of service for another $100 grant to them. They confirmed my hours so NYBC should get a check by the mid November.
|
|
|
Post by dilbert3333 on Sept 23, 2021 14:13:52 GMT -5
I received an email from New York Blood Center that my Platelets donation on 09/11 was sent to Montefiore Hospital and NewYork-Presbyterian / Columbia University Medical Center. Someone got 2 units as it was credited as a triple.
|
|
|
Post by dilbert3333 on Sept 30, 2021 7:52:34 GMT -5
On September 25 I made my 219th lifetime platelets donation overall, 60th to New York Blood Center (170 units). It was another triple unit and brings my lifetime total over 11 years to 597 units.
I will be back on October 9 and if I triple that's a nice even 600 units, starting from my first (a single platelet plus plasma) on October 27, 2010.
|
|
|
Post by dilbert3333 on Oct 5, 2021 14:47:44 GMT -5
I received a $40 eGift card for my recent platelets donation. I redeemed it for an Amazon card code. I also had a $100 award from my office for a team activity so I have $140 to spend there.
My next platelets donation is scheduled for Saturday.
|
|