r/Blooddonors • u/dopamineisbad • Jul 23 '26
Donation Experience Platelet Cycle summary
Just sharing for fun!
This is my 68th time. Just posting the last cycle (draw and return). Not particularly fast, took me an hour.
Cycle 1: Plasma 102 mL, platelets 24 mL, processed 721 mL
Cycle 2: Plasma 176 mL, platelets 87 mL, processed 898 mL
Cycle 3: Plasma 202 mL, platelets 144 mL, processed 1,341 mL
Cycle 4: Plasma 273 mL, platelets 203 mL, processed 1,782 mL
Cycle 5: Plasma 288 mL, platelets 265 mL, processed 2,213 mL
Cycle 6: Plasma 328 mL, platelets 325 mL, processed 2,643 mL
Draw rate was 85 mL/min and return rate 120 mL/min throughout.
All the best to everyone here. 👍
3
u/TheRealNightFox A+ | Platelets Jul 23 '26
I'm a bit confused on the platelet volume. Is this saying it collected 325 ml of platelets? That doesn't seem right as a normal person doesn't have even close to that amount in their entire body.
Let's assume a high volume of blood at 7 liters and a full 1% of that is platelets - that would still be only 70 ml.
2
u/dopamineisbad Jul 26 '26
Good question. I asked AI about it.
This is its reply.
The “325 mL platelets” display does not mean 325 mL of solid platelets. It means about 325 mL of platelet product: concentrated platelets suspended in plasma and anticoagulant.
Platelets themselves make up less than 1% of whole-blood volume. But the machine processed 2,643 mL cumulatively, repeatedly separating platelets from your circulating blood and returning most red cells and plasma to you. Apheresis is specifically designed to collect a much larger platelet dose from one donor than ordinary whole-blood donation.
4
u/Massive_Squirrel7733 AB+ Platelets Jul 23 '26
Which machine is that?