Special to The Island News
So, you’ve made the impactful decision to donate a unit of your blood with OneBlood. You made your appointment, you filled out the questionnaire and you sat for those few important minutes to make your lifesaving donation.
What happens next? Where does the blood go?
Testing
Once the blood unit is collected – as well as several samples for testing – each unit moves into its testing phase to ensure it is safe. The test tubes that the phlebotomist drew at the start of the donation process must be tested for cholesterol levels, as well as a number of conditions, including:
- HIV 1 and 2;
- West Nile Virus;
- Hepatitis B and C;
- T-cruzi (Chagas);
- Syphilis; and/or …
- Human T-Cell Lymphotropic Virus 1 and 2.
During testing, the blood type is also determined. This step is where your blood is labeled as A, B, AB or O, and marked as either RH positive or RH negative.
“Every blood donation is carefully tested and type-matched to each patient, so that we ensure each blood transfusion happens where and when it is needed,” explained Pat Michaels, director of media and public relations with OneBlood.
Processing
While the blood is being tested, the donated unit is being processed and has moved into the biologics manufacturing lab. Here, each unit is placed in a device known as a centrifuge, and spun at an extremely high speed to separate the blood into three components:
- Red blood cells.
- Platelets.
- Plasma.
Then, the blood is placed into a squeezing device known as an “expresser,” and the three separated blood products – all deriving from one unit – are placed into separate bags and labeled.
This testing and blood separation processes take place 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Distribution
When the blood passes the rigorous screening and testing phase and is considered safe for transfusion, the blood is then packaged into containers and delivered to hospitals for use.
“OneBlood donors have the ability to track their donation in a program called My OneBlood Journey,” Michaels said, “which allows them to see which hospital their donation is going to and the timing of its arrival.”
Hospitalized patients require blood for a variety of reasons, including car accidents, traumatic injuries and surgical blood loss. Patients who require blood transfusions rely on healthy donors to contribute at community blood drives and blood centers nationwide so that blood and blood products are available at hospitals like Beaufort Memorial Hospital.
“The availability of safe and reliable blood products can mean the difference between life and death for patients who need them,” said Michelle Foster, HT (ASCP), Director of Laboratory & Pathology services at Beaufort Memorial. “Beaufort Memorial currently uses about 200-pints of blood per month, making blood products a critical component of care here at the hospital.”
