Donating plasma how does it work

The whole blood is then drawn by the automated machine into a centrifuge that spins, causing the plasma to separate from the red blood cells. The plasma is extracted into a bottle and then the uncollected parts of the blood, including white blood cells and red blood cells, are returned to your body. Depending on your hydration levels, the procedure takes approximately 45 minutes.

Thousands of donors donate plasma safely each day. Our employees will know it's your first visit and will take good care of you. Each member has been specially trained and certified, so you can feel at ease knowing that we take your safety and comfort seriously. During your appointment, you'll meet with the following plasma donation center team members:. Donating plasma is simple. Here are some things you can do to keep yourself comfortable:. We provide links to non-Grifols Plasma websites as a courtesy; however, we cannot accept responsibility for the availability or the content of these websites.

Please see our general conditions of use for more information. Call the center to find out hours of operation and to ask any other questions you may have. Does it hurt? Most people compare the feeling of the needle to a mild bee sting. You will also be required to submit to a finger stick test each time you donate so the collection center medical staff can evaluate your protein and hemoglobin levels. Is donating plasma safe? Plasma donation in IQPP certified collection centers is performed in a highly controlled, sterile environment by professionally trained medical staff.

All plasma collection equipment is sterilized and any equipment that comes into contact with you is used only once to eliminate the possibility of transmitting viral infections. What type of medical screening and testing is done? You must have a pre-donation physical which includes answering medical history questions, tests for viruses such as HIV and Hepatitis and evaluating your protein and hemoglobin levels.

How do you get my plasma? Donating plasma is similar to giving blood. A needle is placed into a vein in your arm. Plasma is collected through a process call plasmapheresis and is conducted in cycles that may take up to an hour.

Whole blood is drawn. The plasma is separated from the red blood cells and other cellular components. These donors have their plasma separated from the rest of their blood while they donate using a process called apheresis. Find out about becoming a plasma donor. This way of collecting plasma started in August In time, around 1 million blood donations a year will have this extra, lifesaving use.

Find out more about plasma from blood donations. This plasma is frozen to preserve its quality and function. This component is known as fresh frozen plasma, or FFP. Fresh frozen plasma from female donors is not currently used because it is more likely to contain antibodies that could cause a serious reaction when given to a patient.

Some people do not develop antibodies while others do. It is not clearly understood why this happens, but antibodies are more likely to develop after pregnancy.

For this reason, it is safest for patients if we only produce fresh frozen plasma products from male donors. Fresh frozen plasma can be issued to hospitals or further processed into a more concentrated component that is rich in certain clotting factors called cryoprecipitate.

Fresh frozen plasma and cryoprecipitate can be used to help many types of patients — for example people with massive blood loss, liver failure, or rare diseases.