Platelet donation | Blood platelets (thrombocytes)

Platelet donation

In case of injuries or operations where large blood losses occur or in case of people who cannot produce enough platelets due to their disease(s), it may be necessary to administer platelets from other people, as they cannot be produced artificially. Nowadays this is done in the form of platelet concentrates. The donation can take the form of a whole blood donation, in which half a liter of whole blood is taken.

This is followed by processing and separation into individual components. Alternatively, a pure platelet donation can also take place directly, during which the donor is connected to a separation machine in which only the platelets are selectively filtered out. In the meantime, the remaining blood components are returned to the donor.

This procedure takes a little longer. It is regulated by law that the donation should be free of charge. However, the donor can be paid an expense allowance depending on the effort involved.

This varies depending on the type of donation and the organization, although some do not pay any compensation in the form of money. For a whole blood donation you can count on an amount of approx. 20€, whereas a pure platelet donation brings in a somewhat higher expense allowance of approx. 25-40€, since the procedure takes longer overall.