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Platelets keep them alive while they recover.

Platelets also help patients survive major surgeries or serious injuries. After major surgery or serious injury, patients may need platelets to replace those lost during bleeding.Without a platelet transfusion cancer patients face life-threatening bleeding because platelets help blood to clot. Platelets give cancer patients the strength they need to keep fighting. While cancer patients undergo treatment, a major side effect is low platelet count.About 2 million units of platelets are transfused each year in the U.S.On average, platelets are transfused within 3 days of donation. After your platelet donation, they are immediately tested and prepared for delivery to a hospital.Platelets are in constant demand by hospitals.A single donation of platelets often constitutes several transfusable platelet units. Meanwhile, the rest of your blood – the plasma, red cells and white cells – is returned to you.These cells then go into a sterile, single-use plastic bag.This blood is rapidly spun, which forces the platelets to separate from the other blood components.A relatively small amount of blood is drawn from your arm and goes into a machine called a blood cell separator.Here’s a quick illustration of what happens during a platelet donation:.You may be able to donate platelets up to 24 times a year compared to a maximum of 6 times a year for a whole blood donation.In fact, some platelet donations yield enough platelets for two or three patients. You will be able to provide in one platelet donation what would normally be collected from up to five whole blood donations.This is because blood is drawn from one arm then the platelets are extracted using a machine, and the remaining blood components are returned to you through the other arm. Both arms are used during a platelet donation.From start to finish, it takes about three hours to donate platelets.Platelet donation uses a machine to extract just your platelets and then returns the rest of your blood back to you.Platelets can only be donated at select American Red Cross Donation Centers and it requires an appointment.Platelet donation is a little different than a regular whole blood donation.