We are in need of blood and blood platelet donors for Irene. Read on for more details.

Our friend Janette Bruffey has graciously volunteered to coordinate the blood donation process. If you would like to be a blood or blood platelet donor, please .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) to arrange the details.

You can donate blood to Irene even if your blood type doesn’t match or if you are unable to travel to UCSF.  Simply go to your local blood bank, donate and authorize the CREDIT toward Irene Dias at UCSF.  The local blood bank will then credit your unit of blood toward her need.  Thank you for your help!!

From Bridget Mazzini, UCSF Medical Center:

Here are the basic details for blood donations:

All donor designated blood should be donated at our blood donor center which is located at 500 Parnassus MU West Level I Room MU09 (right by Subway Sandwiches — across the street from the hospital). The blood donor center is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Appointments are required for platelet donations.

Irene will need two types of blood products:

1. Packed red blood cells (called red cells or RBCs). Red cells carry oxygen throughout your body. When these are low, people are anemic — tired, short of breath, headache pale, maybe lightheaded. On average patients use 4 units during the transplant admit. They are good for 4 weeks so they can be “stockpiled” once we have a starting date. Usually routine donors shouldn’t donate these more than 1 every 6 weeks but family and friends may donate more often provided their preblood count check shows a good red cell count. Blood is obtained by draining of a unit of whole blood (the usual way most people are familiar with who have ever donated). Irene is O positive so can have O positive or O negative red cells.
2. Platelets. These are the cells that clot blood. If platelets are low, people bruise and are at risk for bleeding. Most patients use about 4 packs of these during hospitalization. We may transfuse Irene more if she is on anticoagulation so I would plan for more donations than routine. The problem is that platelets are only good for 5 days and cannot be released until 2 days after donated mdash; in other words there is a 3-day window where they are available to the patient. When we know Irene’s chemo start date, we can make a calendar to help narrow down possible infusion dates. People who want to donate platelets must donate a unit of blood first — or sign a release of results of testing if they have donated at another donor center. They are extremely expensive to collect so they won’t put anyone on the machine without relatively recent testing. Donation takes about 2 hours. People usually need two very good veins — one in each arm. Blood type is not a factor for platelets, any blood type can be transfused.

My tips for donating:

• We have regular donors — designated donor blood is not required. It is enormously helpful to Irene and to all our patients when people donate blood or platelets. Many people want to do something and this is a tangible way to help. Have a friend or family member coordinate this so you and Irene don’t need to be thinking about this. I can give them the telephone number to the blood bank so they can follow up on the number of units donated and keep track, etc and they can work with me on timing.
• Red cells: If you have lots of willing donors, I would try to collect 4-8 units of red cells that are compatible with Irene. If there are extras, other patients will benefit.
• Platelets: People should donate whole blood soon (or provide their local donor center results) so they can be cleared for platelet donation when we are ready to go. This requires more time and commitment — just something to keep in mind. Platelet donations must be scheduled in advance. I should coordinate this with the family or friend that you designate for this job.
• There are age, medication, and conditions that are exclusions for donating. The donor center is very good at providing these details which are too numerous and constantly changing for me to be an expert on!