AN APHERESIS DONOR WITH AN UNUSUAL AMBITION made a flying visit to Michigan Community Blood Centers in Grand Rapids on September 6, for the fourth out of an intended 50 special blood donations: his goal is to donate platelets in every US state. 

Al Whitney, 70, of Avon Lake, Ohio (pictured here on September 6 with MCBC Donor Services staff Jamie Walker) regularly donates in his home state and also has given platelets in Texas, Indiana, and Pennsylvania so far. As he travels from state to state, he hopes to help raise awareness about apheresis donation while saving some lives at the same time. (Incidentally, the phrase “flying visit” should be taken literally: a friend who pilots a small airplane gave Al a lift to Grand Rapids for his special donation.)

A blood donor since the mid-1960s, Al has given more than 5 gallons of whole blood plus well over 500 platelet donations. He also has helped organize mobile blood drives in conjunction with his local community blood bank, LifeShare. “A lot of people don’t know what plateletpheresis is, or why it matters,” Al points out. “They aren’t aware of all the people who need platelet transfusions while being treated for cancer. Or they might have heard the terms ‘blood components’ or ‘platelets’ but they don’t know what these things mean, or where they come from.”

One of several types of cells that together make up whole blood, platelets help promote clotting, so they are one of the body’s major defenses against bleeding. Platelets also may be prescribed for cancer patients who are undergoing chemotherapy and/or radiation. These treatments affect bone marrow, reducing the body’s ability to produce normal amounts of blood cells. Platelet transfusions may be needed to help boost patients’ blood counts.  Because platelets can be stored only for 5 days, a steady stream of blood donations is necessary to maintain an adequate supply.

MCBC staff had to twist Al’s arm (not his donating arm, the other one) a little to get him to accept a “Give Blood-Get Cookies” T-shirt as a memento of his visit. “I don’t donate blood to get something,” he says. “I do it to help save people’s lives.”

© Michigan Community Blood Centers