How are blood donations used?
Occasionally, whole blood is used to replace blood lost during surgery or for the treatment of severe bleeding from accidents. However, the majority of blood collected is separated into three components that are used in many different ways. Transfusions of red blood cells are used to treat people with severe anaemia and people experiencing severe bleeding such as accident victims and patients undergoing surgery. • Platelets assist in the clotting process of wounds and are primarily used in the treatment of people with various cancers. Platelets are also used to treat people suffering blood loss. • Plasma is the most versatile component of blood, as it can be turned into a variety of products to treat many life-threatening conditions. While most people donate whole blood, it is possible to donate plasma only or platelets only. These are known as Apheresis (pronounced ay-fur-ee-sis) donations– a process that involves returning the red cells to donors at the time of donation.Whole blood d
