DO'S AND DONT'S FOR A PLATELET DONATION

Minimum requirements to qualify:
This may change from time to time
* Weight should be at least 60 kgs ( as against 45 kg in whole blood donation)
* Hb count between 13 and 15 ( same for blood donation)
* Should have normal platelet count ( 2 to 5 lakh/dl)
* should not be under medication especially blood thinning ones like aspirin etc.
* should not have donated whole blood in the past 3 months.
* rest of the conditions similar to that of blood donation
* platelet donation campaigns can't be organised for the reason of low shelf life.
* not all blood banks are equipped with platelet pheresis machines.
Some key factors about platelet are
* fresh platelets cannot be stored for more than 4 days
* As the shelf life is so low, there will always be demand for platelets
* in chronic bleeding cases, requriement will be huge
* in dengue season, platelet which is one of the vital life saver, the shortage of which kills many needy patients.
* a donor can donate platelets once in every fortnight. He cannot donate whole blood though for the next three months.
* it is advised to carry some books or mp3 players as you are lying in bed for close to 1.5 hours.
* THOUGH THIS INFORMATION IS NOT EXHAUSTIVE IT GIVES U THE BASICS.
For a list of donors and other info contact the links below
www.lionsbloodline.com
www.bloodbook.com
www.redcross.org
Still feel in doubt contact me on email      kvca65@gmail.com
or mobile      9448872651            or 080 23432464

Prices of Onions and Tomatoes

you might have just noticed that the name onion and tomato brings tear to the eyes of common man. No I am saying cutting onion makes you cry. no thinking about it makes you cry. people will now add the legend that probably onion is the only vegetable which makes people cry not only in its raw physical form but metaphysical form as well. worst part of the whole episode is, production of onion has actually gone up and not down as the jokers in the ministry suggested. its a pity nobody, punishes hoarders. well, sharad bhai is too busy to attend to chunnu issues like onion jacking up to 80Rs a kilo etc. He is busy organising the world cricket. noble man!!! sad part in this whole episode is neither the grower nor the consumer are happy!! only the middlemen or shall I call them sharadbhai's cronies who are the beneficiaries of this whole game. next time around, you will have virtual onion salads on your plate. you can savour virtually and cry !!!

Minor complications which may deter a neo-donor during blood/platelet donations

Well, its been a long time since my last blog. To continue with the platelet donation process also called platelet pheresis...

  Please remember not all donors can give platelets. The donor suitability is checked for platelet count and other blood parameters, the suitability of vein for the donation and general health conditions. So, please dont feel disappointed if you are turned back from a donation temporarily. You may re-coup the parameters in normal course and try again after say a month. Now, consider you are found eligible also for platelet donation. Please ensure that you have at least 2 hours spare time for the completion of donation (approx). Unlike normal blood donation, platelet pheresis takes about 90-110 minutes for donation and 30 minute for prel checks.

   If all goes well, no issue. But there may be a likely hood of machine malfunctioning. In that case, the worst that happens is the operator switches off the machine. collects whatever has been donated and thats the end of the story. Some times, they may try to restart the machine, ask to press vigorosly the ball in hand etc. which may not help the machine any end. so, that extra blood pumped out after the restart will go as hysteris waste. it s neither processed nor returned back to the donor. (this incidnentally happened to me during oct 25th 2010 platelet donation at MSR hospital, unfortunately, the technician was not competent to tell me about what had happened. And MSR hospital never bothered to reply to my e-mail query)

  And dont be discouraged by such minor hiccups, because this has happened only first time in my 37 blood donations(platelets included) so far. Still, it is always good to know what to expect. If you have any doubt, ask the attending doctor to explain exactly what had happened. 

Platelet Apheresis-an experience

There was a call on my mobile on 13th dec at about 8.15pm requesting for a platelet donation. The patient was diagnosed with blood cancer and required constant infusion of platelets. I enquired about the hospital where apheresis was to take place( BTW apheresis is taking out components of whole blood from the donor, while returning the reminder of the blood minus drawn component back to him. The entire thing, is done by hooking to an automatic machine, which takes ur blood, removes the platelet and returns the blood back to u). It was in BGS hospital almost 21 km from my residence. By the time we reached hospital it was 9.15pm. Initial testing took around 30 min. After satisfying with the quality of blood, I was finally hooked to the apheresis machine at around 10 pm. The only contact with the machine is through a needle hole in ur vein like in blood donation. But the difference here is, after the needle, three tubes are connected to the machine. Once the machine takes around a unit (400 ml) of ur blood, it starts the centrifuge and the platelet( it can be plasma or the Cells) is separated and collected in a collecting bag. Now, this blood is returned back to you. All this will repeat 10 or 11 times in a span of 50 to 75 min. U can read a magazine or listen to ur fav music while this is going on.

So by 11pm I was happy to have donated platelet to a patient. I was informed that one can donate platelets 24 times a year!! See the number of dengue patients u would be saving. Except for the time factor, I think more donors should be forthcoming to donate platelets.

I reached home by 12pm feeling exhausted but extremely happy. incidentally the patient is recovering.

Eulogy to the doyen of light music "sugama sangitha" of Kannada

The reverberating voice that thrilled thousands in the packed halls, andmade them stand up to respect the 'Nadageethe' is no more. But the impact it has created amongst us Kannadigas, and especially the adjusting Bangaloreans shall live on. Aswathji, may you rest in peace. Unconventional at times, but true to his heart always and a man of mercurial temper: these are the few adjectives used while describing Aswath C But I would prefer the man who took sugama sangitha to the common man and to a large extent, all the artistes of sugama sangitha owe it to this man for popularising it. First week of dec 2009, at the APS grounds, I heard him live for the last time. Was it a thrill/excitement/experience? For an untrained music lover like me, it was a time to dance with gay abandon to the sheer melody most of which were Aswaths original offerings of our famed songs. May He give the family strength to bear this loss. Kannadigas forever will be grateful to you Aswath for making us happy and proud for these 5 decades with your high pitched renderings of all those folk songs and bhavageethes.

Journey to the Himalayas

Am back from a gruelling journey to the Uttarakhand for a week. I would not havebelieved that a physical journey to any place on earth can make such a marked change in the mental framework as well as the total shift of the paradigm. To cut a long story short, the trip cut me, my ego, the self or whatever you call it really to size. It was a great humbling experience. The range around you abounds in lofty mountain ranges and deep gorges. The gurgling/roaring rivers make one remain silent and enjoy their conversation with the nature instead. The sheer size of them makes one feel like an iota a nothing. To add to this, the silent and non-grumbling attitude of the pahadis(the hill folk! as opposed to the plains folk like us!!) was really endearing. Could I hear a single impatient honk at either of the 5+ hours of waiting for the roadblock due to landslide to get cleared? you bet. None. Second time, in a matter of 24 hours when I heard the familiar honk, you guessed it right, it came from a chandigarh vehicle. Still none reacted to it. I even wondered how, the great Shankaracharya could endure this physical ordeal to build that Badri Vishal temple there? Single minded determination to propagate advaita only could have given him the strength to traverse mostly by foot.

"Expressway to new Bengaluru airport"

How much more of the dust, pollution and blaring noise and unending traffic jams have the average bengalureans are to endure before this joke called the signal free path to the BIAL< materialises finally? Environmentally, economically and sociologically, this new project is a complete disaster from the word go it was formulated. for an air traffic of around a million people every year, I believe an equal number everyday is put to unforseen, avoidable hardships. And we are to endure this cruelty in the name of development. Probably, the policy makers never foresaw the economic downturn, which was lurking to happen. Now, the eyesores of underpasses, magicboxes(not magic anymore)and dug up roads aggravating breathing difficulties dot almost every stretch of bengaluru . Pray, what is the Janagraha, and other civic forums are doing to alleviate, the common mans injuries?