THE Plasma Donation Awareness launch was held at Gold Reef City Theme Park Hotel and Conference Centre on June 8 and although it was not very well attended, those who did come learnt just how easy it is to donate plasma and left the launch with a much better understanding of what it is all about.
Debbie Forster (head of donor relations in Johannesburg) opened the launch and said: “The need for plasma is much higher than we think.” She welcomed donors who presently give blood and platelets, as well as Betty Mabaso (Collections manager SANBS) and Thandi Gqirana from Haemotec (Pty) Ltd.
Mabaso advised: “We need to try and convert our donors to become plasma donors. You can actually donate more often than donating blood, every two weeks is the suggested donation time. There are three local blood donor centres where you’ll be able to donate plasma, Alberton City, Southdale and Germiston. In the beginning, it’s advisable you contact them to make a booking. Or next time you go to donate blood, chat with the staff about donating plasma and they will advise you.”
Gqirana shared her knowledge about the plasma machine as well as explaining how a donor will give plasma.
“Yes, you can donate plasma every two weeks, it’s absolutely safe to do this and each actual donation will take about half an hour. You will undergo the normal screening process for blood donation which includes completing the donor questionnaire, having a one-on-one interview with an SANBS staff member and a mini-medical, which includes blood pressure, pule, haemoglobin and weight assessment.
“Once accepted, a high-tech machine is used to safely and quickly collect your plasma. A needle is placed in the vein of your arm and blood is collected using a sterile plasma collection set. The plasma collection set is disposable and is used only once. Your red blood cells, platelets and white blood cells are returned to you and at the end of your procedure some saline (sterile salt water) is infused into you to compensate for the around 650ml of plasma we collect. The duration of the whole process is about an hour.”
Your blood and plasma save lives. Please contact the toll-free number on 0800 11 90 31, visit www.sanbs.org.za or email customerservice@sanbs.org.za for any further information.
WATCH:
Thandi Gqirana, from Haemonetics, supplier of the Plasma machine, explains what occurs when you donate Plasma.
Read:
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