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Become a platelet donor! If you've donated blood before, you know that you've made a tremendous difference for the hospital patients who received your blood. You can take that feeling one step further by donating platelets. Many hospital patients need platelets to survive. By donating platelets, you provide an invaluable gift of life. Why are platelets needed? Blood is made of four components: platelets, plasma, red blood cells and white blood cells. The platelet component is necessary to control bleeding. Patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments are unable to produce enough platelets. Without platelet transfusions, life-threatening hemorrhages could result. History of plateletpheresis Until recently(page update=year 2000), the only way to collect enough platelets for a single transfusion was to take units of blood given by 5 to 10 donors, separate the platelets from the other blood cells using a centrifuge and combine the platelets. Today, sophisticated medica...

MISSION AND VISION: "SAFE BLOOD FOR ALL"! Pakistan Red Crescent Society Access to basic health is the right of every individual. Blood Transfusion Service (BTS) is an essential component of Government Health Service. Blood Banks providing this service are hospital based with 70% reliance on "family and replacement donors", who are considered as "unsafe" donors for blood collection. There are 450 Public and 2357 Private Blood Banks in the country that collect approximately 1.5 million blood bags / annum. Government BTS rely on 70% Family and Replacement Donors, 10% from Paid Donors who are "unsafe" and only 20% through "Voluntary Unpaid Blood Donors" who give blood of their own free will without any desire for reward, and are the providers of safest blood. Government BTS is fragmented, insufficient & inefficient lacking infrastructure, adequate financial, human & technical resources resulting in long-term de...

BLOOD DONATION There is no substitute of human blood, it can't be manufactured in a factory nor can animal blood be transfused to human beings . Therefore to provide safe quality blood, the blood donor service must have healthy, responsive and motivated voluntary blood donors to meet the country's need (2% of the population), aging between 16 to 60 years, weighing 50 KG or above and having no history of transfusion transmitted diseases, drug addiction or any major ailment in the recent past. The blood volume in men and woman are 80ml/kg and 70ml/kg respectively of their body weights i.e. 5000 to 6000 ml of circulating blood. The volume in circulation required for routine work is 50ml/kg of body weight for both men and women. Excess blood possessed by men and women are 30ml/kg and 20ml/kg of their body weights. From the excess blood 7-8ml/kg i.e. around 350 to 450 ml can be safely donated without any side effects or weakness. The blood donation process starts with...