Pat Hawley of Denison, Iowa, received a liver transplant at The Nebraska Medical Center in March of 2000.
“The first week in the hospital, I kept running into people who remarked on how much blood I had gone through during the surgery,” Hawley said.
Statistics show that, of the average 120 liver transplants conducted at The Nebraska Medical Center each year, more than 50 percent of them require no blood at all. Of those procedures that do require blood, the average number of units used is around two units. How many did Hawley use? In total, Hawley went through an extraordinary amount of blood products – 78 units of packed red blood cells, 90 units of fresh frozen plasma, 31 units of platelets, and 110 units of cryoprecipitate.
“It’s amazing I’m here today,” Hawley said. “All I knew when I awoke was that I felt better than I had in years.”
Life-saving platelets and plasma are collected through an apheresis donation. Platelets are blood cells that are specially programmed to form clots, and are often used to treat cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, and organ transplant patients. Plasma is the fluid portion of your blood that helps liver transplant patients, burn victims, and patients with bleeding disorders. All blood types can potentially donate platelets and plasma.
During an apheresis donation, donors relax in a comfortable chair and watch TV while their blood is drawn and spun through sterile tubing in a separating machine. Platelets or plasma are taken out, while the rest of the blood is returned to the donor. Platelet donation takes about two hours, and plasma donation takes about an hour.
Consider becoming a platelet or plasma donor. Donation appointments may be scheduled at the Omaha Red Cross donation centers at 38th and Dewey streets or 132nd and Dodge streets. Call 271-2589 to make an appointment. For more information about donating platelets or plasma, contact Sara Schoomaker at sschooma@unmc.edu or 559-6303.