Speaker 1: Welcome to brainstud a production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2: Hey brain Stuff, I'm Lauren vogel Bomb, and this is
Speaker 2: a classic episode from our archives. This one goes into
Speaker 2: the complex system that medical care providers use to make
Speaker 2: sure that donated blood is safe from source to infusion.
Speaker 2: Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Vogel Bomb. Here.
Speaker 1: This episode talks about blood donation. So if that's the
Speaker 1: kind of thing that makes you woozy, go on and
Speaker 1: skip it. Okay, Every two seconds in the United States,
Speaker 1: someone somewhere needs a blood transfusion. And let's face it,
Speaker 1: many of us don't consider giving blood until there's a
Speaker 1: major disaster where donations are needed. But just one donation
Speaker 1: has the potential to save up to three lives on average.
Speaker 1: When you donate blood, you provide about one pint. That's
Speaker 1: about half a liter of whole blood, which is called
Speaker 1: a unit of blood, and for reference, that's about sixteen ounces,
Speaker 1: or the size of a large coffee. But in the
Speaker 1: US alone, there is a need for almost thirty six
Speaker 1: thousand units of blood every day, so it's excellent for
Speaker 1: those who can donate to do so. But have you
Speaker 1: ever wondered what actually happens after your blood is drawn
Speaker 1: for a donation, Where does it go and how is
Speaker 1: the process tracked for safety and security. We'll break it down.
Speaker 1: Step one is collection. When you donate blood, it's collected
Speaker 1: in a special bag and likely a few test tubes
Speaker 1: that were developed with an antiquagulant to prevent the blood
Speaker 1: from clotting. Each bag and test tube is assigned the
Speaker 1: same unique ID number to ensure that the collected blood
Speaker 1: can be properly tracked and eventually labeled. Then the blood
Speaker 1: is placed on ice before it's sent to the lab
Speaker 1: for testing. Next, the bags and test tubes of blood
Speaker 1: are packaged in boxes specially made to keep blood at
Speaker 1: the right temperature until it can reach laboratories. For step
Speaker 1: two processing, the test tube samples are sent off to
Speaker 1: the lab for testing to be sure the blood is
Speaker 1: safe and to determine the blood type. In the US,
Speaker 1: the FDA regulates blood testing, clatlection, and blood components through
Speaker 1: its Center for Biologics, Evaluation and Research. While that blood
Speaker 1: is being tested, a blood processing center verifies the receipt
Speaker 1: of the whole blood, sort of like tracking a package
Speaker 1: from post office through delivery. The blood's idea is checked
Speaker 1: in at every step of the way. Next, the units
Speaker 1: of whole blood are separated into specific components. This separation process,
Speaker 1: which is called component therapy, is accomplished by spinning the
Speaker 1: blood in a centrifuge. The heavy red cells fall to
Speaker 1: the bottom and the blood is divided into transfusible components
Speaker 1: red cells, platelets, and plasma. The plasma might even be
Speaker 1: processed further. For instance, plasma can be separated into cryoprecipitate
Speaker 1: called cryo for short, which helps control the risk of
Speaker 1: bleeding by helping blood to clot. The red blood cells, plasma,
Speaker 1: and platelets are then heat sealed in bags to ensure
Speaker 1: they remain sterile, and the components are stored while they
Speaker 1: wait for their test results. Plasma and cryo contain proteins
Speaker 1: that are pretty stable, so they can be frozen for
Speaker 1: up to time a year at negative twenty seven degrees
Speaker 1: fahrenheit that's negative thirty three celsius. Red cells are more
Speaker 1: delicate and have to be refrigerated, but can be kept
Speaker 1: for up to forty two days as long as they're
Speaker 1: held at forty two degrees fahrenheit that's six degrees celsius.
Speaker 1: Platelets must be used within five days and are stored
Speaker 1: at room temperature in agitators that rock them back and
Speaker 1: forth until they are transfused into a patient. Through all
Speaker 1: of this, the blood processing center is still tracking the donation,
Speaker 1: including manufacturing data, what centrifuge was used to separate the blood,
Speaker 1: and what time the work was performed. Once they get
Speaker 1: an okay on the blood tests from the lab, the
Speaker 1: components are ready to be deployed. They print labels with
Speaker 1: information including the blood type and expiration dates, which they
Speaker 1: then affix to the bags. If the blood is deemed
Speaker 1: unsafe during the testing, it's tagged with a discard label
Speaker 1: to complete the tracking cycle. When a hospital or treatment
Speaker 1: center places an order for blood or plasma, the components
Speaker 1: are shipped off in temperature safe boxes. When they arrive,
Speaker 1: the medical staff double checks them for safety, and finally
Speaker 1: they're ready to be transfused into the patient who needs them.
Speaker 1: The entire donation to shipping process can take up to
Speaker 1: three days, which doesn't seem like a long time until
Speaker 1: there's a major disaster or blood shortage. The American Red
Speaker 1: Cross says blood supply usually can't keep up with demand
Speaker 1: because only about three percent of people eligible to donate
Speaker 1: actually do. That's why it's such a boon to donate
Speaker 1: if you can, especially if you're a universal donor with
Speaker 1: type O negative blood. This can be transfused into any
Speaker 1: patient with any blood type. The American Red Cross estimates
Speaker 1: that about forty five percent of people in the US
Speaker 1: have type OH blood, but the overwhelming majority of those
Speaker 1: people are OH positive, which is lucky for them because
Speaker 1: it means that donated components are more likely to match
Speaker 1: their common type, but it also means that just seven
Speaker 1: percent of people are type O negative that universal donor.
Speaker 2: Today's episode is based on the article what Happens to
Speaker 2: Blood Once You Donate It on housetiff works dot com,
Speaker 2: written by Shelley Dancy. Brain Stuff is production of by
Speaker 2: Heart Radio in partnership with how stuffworks dot com, and
Speaker 2: it's produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts my heart Radio,
Speaker 2: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen
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