BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — When you hear “blood donation,” you might picture a bag of blood being collected.
But there’s another part of your blood that can make a lifesaving difference: platelets.
Platelets are the cells responsible for helping your blood clot and stop bleeding.
“Platelets are a lot of what cancer patients are receiving, they’re receiving it because whenever they’re going through chemo treatment, the chemo is actually attacking their platelet count so they end up needing platelets. You have trauma victims that are in need of platelets," said Alyssa Mendonca, Community Development Supervisor for Houchin Community Blood Bank.
Right now, Houchin Community Blood Bank says its platelet supply is running dangerously low.
“I just confirmed we do have 8 platelets ready to go and processed," said Mendonca. "With platelets they do have a shorter shelf life they only have 5 days of a shelf life so we end up getting them out much quicker we end up moving them much quicker we don’t often have these completely filled.”
Unlike a traditional blood donation, platelet donations can take longer because the platelets are actively separated from the other components of your blood before you leave.
For some donors, the extra time is worth it.
“I sit here about two hours and to me its just like two hours out of my day, out of my week, its not impactful to me but I know it’s impactful to others so that’s why I don’t mind doing it," said donor Beatrice Pelayo.
Although she’s not the only one answering the call.
Michelle Lord is helping make sure more donors are walking through Houchin’s doors.
After health conditions kept her from donating herself, she found another way to give back — by recruiting others and organizing blood drives through her local church.
“We do two biannual bigger drives and then we encourage our members to donate every 8 weeks if they can and so were a regular group they turn to to have blood donations and even platelets as well," said Lord.
With platelet supplies running low, volunteers like Michelle Lord are playing an important role in helping Houchin maintain donations and giving community members an opportunity to make a difference.
Houchin says platelet donations are still needed. Click here learn more about how you can donate your time to save a life.
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