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Today was the second day in a row that my father received platelets. I learned today that platelets have a five day shelf life and the first two days are spent being tested in a lab to make sure that they are safe for infusion. This whole process I have felt that there is little I can do to make any difference. So while I was bored today I called the American Red Cross which has a donor center down the street from Maine Medical. I wanted to schedule an appointment and they advised me that if I could be there in 15 minutes I could donate today. So off to the donor center I went.

it is a very painless process. Just two small IV's stuck in your arms. I have good veins they say so they were able to use both arms at the same time. This is me near the end of donating my platelets. The bag hanging just left of the screen is my plasma which is used to keep the platelets alive. The process of donating took less then 57 minutes. At the end you do not feel tired at all as they replace the fluids they take out during the process.

I encourage anyone who has the time and ability to donate blood or platelets. I was surprised to learn of the short shelf life of platelets and the sometimes critically low level of blood at times. I now know someone very close to me who has needed both blood and platelets. I plan on donating as much as possible in the future.