Donating Blood Platelet

Had wanted to donate blood platelet. But I don't reach the minimum weight limit..
Blood platelet can only last for 5days and can help save the dengue fever victims!



Be SomeOne Special Be A Blood Donor

Pheresis is a special type of blood donation that allows a person to donate just one needed part of his or her blood, for example, platelets to prevent bleeding or plasma, the fluid part of the blood. Read on to find out more about this special gift of life. . .

Plateletpheresis

What are platelets?Platelets are the tiny blood cells that are essential for blood to clot normally

What is plateletpheresis? Plateletpheresis is a special blood donation process. It allows you to give just one blood component - platelets, the cells that help stop bleeding. There is a plentiful supply of platelets in blood and very large numbers can be donated with no ill effect.

How does plateletpheresis work?

By using sophisticated medical equipment, called blood cell separators, blood is drawn from the donor's arm into the machine. The platelets are then carefully separated by these high-tech machines. The rest of the blood, including red blood cells, is returned to the donor during the procedure.


How long does it take? Plateletpheresis takes about 60-90 minutes to complete.

Who can be a plateletpheresis donor? Any healthy person who meets the medical criteria for whole blood donation can become a plateletpheresis donor provided his/her body weight exceeds 51 kg and possesses arm veins of a suitable size.

Is plateletpheresis safe?

Plateletpheresis is very safe because only platelets are removed from the blood. All equipment that comes into direct contact with blood is disposable, ie., used only once and thrown away. Occasionally, the donor may experience a slight tingling sensation around the lips and nose or feel slightly cold during the donation but these symptoms pass quickly. A trained staff monitors the pheresis donation throughout and is there to help and answer your questions.

How often can I give platelets?

On the "Centre for Transfusion Medicine (CTM) Start Up Pheresis Programme", you can donate platelets once every four weeks, up to 12 times a year.


How can I become a plateletpheresis donor?


If you are interested in this special pheresis donation programme, please speak to a senior nurse in the Bloodbank at the Health Sciences Authority (HSA). The Bloodbank@HSA is the residential blood donation suite of CTM and it is located in the Health Sciences Authority building at 11 Outram Road. Alternatively, you may contact the CTM Pheresis Programme Coordinator at Tel: 6213 0626.


Help a cancer patient - Become a platelet donor.Some cancer patients, especially those with leukaemia, require platelet transfusion to help prevent life-threatening bleeding.

Healthy people have a tremendous reserve of platelets. The pheresis procedure can collect much larger number of platelets compared to whole blood donations. Platelets collected by pheresis reduce the chance of patients failing to respond to the platelet transfusion.