![]() ![]() It takes between 90 minutes to three hours, usually involves two needles, and utilizes a machine that separates your plasma out and then pumps the rest of your blood back into your body. The other method allows you to donate plasma only. Known as a “whole blood donation,” this approach collects all the different elements of your blood, and then later experts remove the plasma, says Jeffrey McCullough, M.D., emeritus professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at University of Minnesota Medical School. You'll sit back and relax (well, sort of) with a needle in your arm that draws out a unit-about one pint or 500 milliliters (mL)-of blood for seven to 10 minutes. If you’re considering donating plasma to help patients who need it, there are a few things you should know before you get started. (Interestingly, this is different than the case for blood donations, where people with O- blood can give to any blood type.) Since only 4 percent of the population has AB blood, it is constantly in short supply, explains Timothy Hilbert, M.D., director of the Blood Bank at NYU Langone Health. While there is a need for all blood types to donate plasma, the greatest need is for donations from people whose blood type is AB, which makes them a universal donor of plasma. He explains that plasma contains a key protein that helps clot blood and stop bleeding. ![]() Pham, M.D., clinical assistant professor in the department of pathology at Stanford University School of Medicine. clotting) in trauma patients suffering from severe blood loss, says Tho D. Whereas donated blood is used to build up blood volume for patients in need, plasma transfusions are also very necessary because they're often used to help with coagulation (a.k.a. A brief explainer: Plasma is the liquid portion of your blood, and your red and white blood cells float in plasma, along with a variety of different nutrients and proteins that are required to live a healthy life. Of course you've heard about donating blood, but have you heard about donating plasma? Let us back up a bit: Do you even know what plasma is? Yup, thought so.
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