Mangaluru: KMC Hospital’s Blood Bank (NABH accredited) has added another feather to its cap by starting Platelet-apheresis service.

According to a press release, it is the first of its kind service in Dakshina Kannada district and second in Coastal Karnataka.

Platelet-apheresis is the process of collecting platelets, a component of blood which initiates and propagates blood clotting. Through a single intravenous line, the donor is connected to the platelet-apheresis instrument. The donor’s whole blood is drawn in small portions, then centrifuged in the same instrument, platelets are separated, filtered and collected in a separate bag. The red blood cells and plasma of the donor’s blood are returned back to the donor again in similar small portions. This kind of donation is indicated in treating patients with Dengue and undergoing chemotherapy.

The platelets are collected on “Haemonetics MCS+” instrument. The procedure takes more than an hour depending on the donor’s platelet count and expected yield of platelet count in the Single Donor Platelet (SDP) unit.

One unit of SDP or apheresis platelets collected after platelet-apheresis procedure is equivalent to 6 – 8 units of Random Donor Platelet (RDP), which was collected after component separation from whole blood of identical number of donors. Since the amount of plasma in SDP is more than RDP, so only group specific SDP can be issued to the patient.

KMC Hospital (Mangaluru) Medical Superintendent Dr Anand Venugopal said that the KMC is proud to announce this service for the citizens of Dakshina Kannada. “This is extremely helpful for patients who have low platelet count and require repeated platelet transfusions,” he said.

He added that cancer patients, organ or bone marrow transplants patients, victims of traumatic injuries patients of Dengue with low platelet count and those undergoing open heart surgery need platelet transfusions to survive.”

KMC Hospital Blood Bank Director Dr Shrijeet Chakraborti said that this procedure is very helpful to collect platelets for treating patients with moderate to severely low platelet counts. “Any healthy person between the age of 18 – 60 years, body weight above 55 kgs and platelet count 1.5 lakhs/cu mm can undergo this procedure,” he said.

He added that the same donor can again donate after 72 hours, but not more than 24 times in a year. The only complication during the platelet-apheresis procedure is mild reduction in blood calcium level which can be corrected by chewable calcium tablets. There is no complication of low blood pressure or reduction in blood volume as encountered in usual blood donation.

Dr Chakraborti also thanked the Drug Controller’s Office of Karnataka for licensing the blood bank in starting this service. The use of SDP reduces the risk of febrile non-hemolytic transfusion reaction and alloantibody production in patients who require repeated transfusions. The number of donors required for as many as RDP units is also negated.

Before the procedure, donor’s blood will be collected for the following tests: Hemoglobin, Haematocrit, Platelet count, Malarial Parasite, RPR for Syphilis, and ELISA for HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C, the press release added.