Do you donate blood? What about platelets? What are platelets you wonder?
PLATELETS
Platelets are the “yellow stuff” in our blood, small cell fragments that help control bleeding. They are needed by many types of patients, including those undergoing cancer treatment, bone marrow or organ transplants, trauma procedures or open heart surgeries.
During a platelet donation, only platelets are taken; remaining blood components are returned to the donor. This is why you can donate platelets every 2 weeks compared to every 56 days for whole blood donations. Donating platelets, you are receiving your oxygen-carrying red blood cells.
Many factors are contributing to fewer platelets being available for local Indiana hospitals. Although nearly 3,000 dedicated Indiana Blood Center platelet donors donate each year, nearly 30% donate only once.
More donors are needed to share the load, so efforts have been put in place to expand the donor base, while also making strides to increase the current donor frequency.
PROMOTION
These efforts include a platelet donation contest designed to engage and reward former, current, and future platelet donors to help increase donations. We named this contest The Super Donor Super Ticket Giveaway.
From October 15th through January 15th each donor that scheduled and kept four platelet appointments (during this designated period) was qualified for one entry into a raffle.
PRIZES
Third Place Prize: All donors that kept four platelet appointments to receive 2,500 DonorPoint points
Second Place Prize: 1 of 20 autographed Colts mini-helmets
First Place Prize: 1 of 3 Apple iPads
The Grand Prize: A PAIR OF TICKETS TO THE 2012 SUPER BOWL AT LUCAS OIL STADIUM
RESULTS
539 people participated in Indiana Blood Center’s raffle by donating platelets at least four times in the last three months.
In all, there were nearly 5,000 platelet procedures in the three months. The number of transfuseable units from those donations number of 10,000 units.
Stay tuned… tomorrow we will be announcing our grand prize winner. And while you are waiting, feel free to make an appointment to donate platelets by going to DonorPoint.org
