Learning the process after blood collection at SANBS Mt Edgecombe

THE blood donation process itself is rather straightforward, but once the precious liquid has been donated, what happens next?

Speaking to Northglen News, Nqobile Kunene, first-line processing supervisor for SANBS, explained, in the most simplified way possible, that each unit of blood is tested for diseases and viruses.

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Since 2005, SANBS has been conducting Nucleic acid Amplification Technology (NAT) tests on every unit of blood that is donated.

“This is a very sensitive test, which detects the presence of the HI-virus, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and syphilis in blood. However, there is still the danger of the window-period which no test in the world can detect,” said Kunene.

“We don’t do batch testing. Instead we test each unit itself. The blood is then separated into three units which are red blood cells, platelets and plasma,” said Kunene.

This process is called spinning and is done in a machine called a centrifuge.

Platelets can be used for cancer patients, plasma to replace clotting in a trauma patient, and red blood cells are used for patients who needed surgery or who have suffered complications during childbirth.

“Plasma is not kept in liquid form. It’s frozen for 45 minutes in a refrigerator before being stored in a cold room,” she said.

The shelf life of blood is limited: Platelets last five days while red blood cells last 42 days. Plasma has a one-year shelf life.

Msizi Biyase, a special processing technician at SANBS, is responsible for filtering blood samples and separating white blood cells from red blood cells.

“Immuno-compromised patients and those who have reactions to plasma proteins will receive this blood,” he said.

Before the separation process, each unit of blood is docked into the system and an eligibility test is run.
Blood is then transported to various blood banks in hospitals.