FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“Little Known” Blood Component Provides Gift of Life During Holidays

Though the region’s red blood cell supply is stable, shorter holiday week puts greater stress on blood platelets used to treat cancer patients, victims of trauma

DECEMBER 20, 2002, SEATTLE — While many Western Washington residents get swept up in the holiday spirit – preparing for Christmas, shopping and making plans to be with loved ones – hundreds more in the community will spend this season in the hospital, in need of blood. Many of those patients will require a less familiar, but vital component of the life-saving substance: platelets.

This year, both Christmas and New Year’s Day occur on a Wednesday. Because the week is shorter as a result, the Blood Center experiences lower than normal blood donations. Unlike red blood cells, which can be stored for up to 42 days, platelets, the most common component transfused to stop bleeding, can only be stored for five days. The survival of cancer patients, victims of automobile accidents and other trauma during the holiday, depends upon a steady supply of platelets. Due to the short storage life of platelets, regular daily donations are even more important for a steady supply. The Puget Sound Blood Center encourages the community to call the Blood Center at 1-800-398-7888 to schedule an appointment to donate blood during its holiday hours.

After a volunteer generously donates a unit of whole blood, it is separated into plasma, red blood cells and platelets. A single patient’s daily need for platelets can vary widely – requiring as little as four units of platelets to as many as 40 units, which causes wide swings in the daily community need. Last year alone, more than 50,000 units of platelets were transfused in the region’s hospitals.

According to a Blood Center spokesman, the best way to ensure a stable platelet supply is to encourage more whole blood donations during the Blood Center’s holiday hours.

“Though they have powerful potential to save lives, platelets require special handling,” said Steve McLean, Blood Center spokesman. “Platelets must be separated from blood within only a few hours of receiving the whole blood. Currently, we’re able to separate platelets approximately 75% of the time, but naturally, the more blood donated by the community, the greater the number of platelets we can produce. Slower holiday periods, then, can have an impact on the amount of blood donated and platelets produced.”

The Blood Center points out that the holiday season also means more travel on the state’s roads and highways – increasing the potential for automobile accidents and other trauma situations that require more blood than normal. Typically, the Blood Center requires that at least 900 people donate each weekday to maintain an adequate supply. But, the combination of lower donations during the holiday and the increased need for blood – especially platelets – in the region’s hospitals over the holiday, compels the Blood Center to encourage the community to make donations.

The entire process of donating blood only takes an hour – which is a perfect break from holiday shopping.

The Blood Center’s holiday hours and nine center locations are as follows:

• Christmas Eve: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• New Year’s Eve: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

About The Puget Sound Blood Center
The nonprofit Puget Sound Blood Center is the resource for patients in western Washington who need blood, tissue and specialized laboratory services. Founded in 1944, the Blood Center has a long and unique tradition of blending community volunteerism, medical science and research to improve patients' lives. The Blood Center, which serves patients in more than 70 hospitals and clinics in 14 counties with blood services, provides tissue and transplantation support to 185 hospitals across the Northwest.

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