February 2012

What happens in the lab?

By Tim Gilmore, Blood Drive Account Manager, Stanford Blood Center

During each blood donation, six small tubes of blood are collected (to be used later for testing), along with the bag of blood used for transfusion. When the blood donors finish their good deed, they rest in the canteen with cookies and juice. But their precious gift of blood is already busy, working toward saving lives! Here, we take you on a tour through our lab.

• Once the blood has been drawn, the bag and tubes are properly sealed and stored in coolers. Shuttle drivers pick up the blood and deliver it to the Stanford Blood Center laboratory.

• At the lab, everything is scanned into our system. At this point, tubes and bags are separated for testing/processing. Tubes must be tested and approved before the corresponding unit of blood can be released for use.

At Stanford Blood Center, we test for:

• ABO\Rh Type
• Cytomegalovirus (CMV)
• Hepatitis B
• Hepatitis C
• Syphilis
• HIV
• HTLV-I/II
• T-Cruzi
• West Nile Virus
• Cholesterol

• Processing comes next. The first step is to separate the unit of whole blood into different components. Doing this allows our hospitals to give patients exactly what they need—and nothing extra. Blood components are separated through the use of a centrifuge machine.

• Once out of the centrifuge machine, the unit will have broken down into the four basic components of blood - red cells, plasma, platelets and white cells. White cells can be harmful if transfused into a patient, so are filtered out or used for research.

• Red blood cells are refrigerated and can be kept for a maximum of 42 days. Plasma is frozen and can be stored for up to a year if not immediately needed. Platelets have the shortest shelf life; they last only about three days after the testing is complete.

• Next, our staff reviews hospitals’ orders and sends the blood components where they need to go.

• Finally, hospital employees transfuse the blood products into people who need blood to survive or thrive.

If you’re interested in a group tour of our lab—maybe with a class at school, a group of friends, or a few co-workers—just let us know and we’ll arrange it. Contact: Kevin O’Neill (kvoneill@stanford.edu, 650-725-2540).

What's in a Cell?

By Billie Rubin, Hemoglobin’s Catabolic Cousin, reporting from the labs of Stanford Blood Center

Most living cells have a nucleus where the chromosomes and DNA live, and a number of other organelles that are involved in making energy, proteins, repairs to itself, etc. But our little red blood cell (RBC) friends selflessly throw all of that away when they grow up to have more room for lots of hemoglobin molecules that bind to oxygen, then take all that oxygen to other tissues of the body. This selfless act leaves our RBCs with a diminished life span (just 120 days) because they can't repair themselves.

RBCs are the most numerous of all cells in our bodies and they die at a rate of 2 to 3 million per second! But RBCs are produced as fast as they are removed. Our bodies recycle all the old parts that it can from a cell and send the rest out for compost or back out as CO2 that the plants can use.

Heartfelt Haiku

By Donors & Friends of SBC

Last year for Valentine's Day, we asked you to write haiku poems for those closest to your heart. The response was better than anticipated so we asked for your poems again this year, this time to be written about donating blood and the patients who are fortunate to receive it. In addition to sharing them below, we've turned your three-line works of “heart” into cards, to be delivered to patients at the Palo Alto VA Hospital later this week.

Thank you to everyone who participated this year! Here are the submissions, in no particular order:

We are all human
My blood I give with kindness
Happy thoughts of unseen smiles
- Shannon Weaver

Life force rushes forth
Benefiting those in need
Then, replenishes
- Kimberly Cope

Hope you are infused
With love, light, laughter, and hope
As well as this blood
- Anne Wiley

When you hear stories
Of folks who have needed blood
You want to donate
- Josette Walian

Between life and death
our home and the hospital
We smile and we cry ❤

I went for treatment
And I was prescribed haiku
Now I feel so fine
- Jeff Bravo

Pinch! Relax, wait, dream
Life river flows from my arm
Blind love gift binds us
- Mark Papamarcos

Happy to donate BLOOD
Makes me feel good about GIVING
Patients longer LIFE
- Jerry Childers

A small prick in arm
is all it takes to really
make a difference

Just a little bit
means a great deal to someone
It's only my blood
- Leslie C. Gordon

Her face in my mind
The chemo killing her cells
The blood restoring
- Donna Andresen Araiza

A few minutes in a chair
My gift to you
Good karma for me (and POG)
- Gary Davis

Liquid red lasso
A quoit knotted by the heart
Rescues a stranger
- George Krompacky

Love is in the air
New blood is in the veins
There is ebb and flow - all is well!
- Karen Kneedler

Life's rhythm and blues
Sharing blood ensures new life
Pumping love and soul
- Antonio Nuñez

My blood is now yours
Dear friend, we are connected
Sharing cherished life

One gives, one receives
New blood, energy and life
Let's all seize the day!
- America Reyes

Platelets and plasma
It's all golden
Small gift for POG
- Dominic Wang

Saturday mornings
Drive to the Center
Platelets to save lives
- Dennis Feick

Some Facts About Malaria

By Billie Rubin, Hemoglobin’s Catabolic Cousin, reporting from the labs of Stanford Blood Center

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “About 1,500 cases of malaria are diagnosed in the United States each year. The vast majority of cases in the United States are in travelers and immigrants returning from countries where malaria transmission occurs, many from sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.”

Malaria is caused by a parasite carried by mosquitoes that get it from an infected human. The parasite travels to the person's liver where it matures, then enters the bloodstream and infects the red blood cells (RBCs). They multiply inside the RBC, which breaks open within two or three days. The parasite then infects other RBCs resulting in the loss of hemoglobin, which can cause anemia, fevers and flu-like symptoms.

Malaria is treated as a medical emergency that requires a hospital stay. Chloroquine is often used for treatment, however, there is currently no vaccine.

Because malaria can be transmitted through blood transfusions, it’s important for us to ask blood donors about their travel history at each visit for screening purposes. Not sure if a location you traveled to within the past year is a risk area? Give us a call before dropping in: 888-723-7831. In addition, the CDC offers an interactive map application on their website.

Are You My Type?

By Julie Ruel, Social Media Manager, Stanford Blood Center

Do you consider blood type an important criterion for compatibility with the potential special someone in your life? According to Jenny Nakao Hones, a Japanese American who studies Asian cultures, superstitions, and customs, “One of the most popular methods in Japan that is gaining popularity around Asia is blood type analysis. Similar to other horoscope systems, blood type… has charts that indicate compatibility.”

Here’s the breakdown:

• Type A is most compatible with A and AB.
• Type B is most compatible with B and AB.
• Type AB is most compatible with AB, B, A, and O.
• Type O is most compatible with O and AB.

How does this compare for you? It’s interesting to consider, although growing up in Japan, Jenny remembers this as more of “a good icebreaker at a party and a fun way to get to know everyone in a short time.” It was less about using it to choose a spouse.

If you don’t know your type, consider donating blood with your loved one in the spirit of Valentine’s Day and just for fun, see if your blood types are in sync with each other.

Please visit Jenny Nakao Hones’ blog to check out some additional, interesting blood type analysis charts.

We Know You’d Do It Anyway, But…

By Julie Ruel, Social Media Manager, Stanford Blood Center

As a blood donor, you are a giving individual by design. We’re certain you would donate without recognition and regardless of the day’s giveaway. That said, it’s important to our organization that we don’t take the people behind the blood donations for granted. You are part of a very important, very small population and your loyalty to patients in the community deserves to be recognized.

Our Loyalty Program was designed for the different types of donations available, with an emphasis on frequency of visits. Taking into consideration the different lengths of deferral for each, there are a variety of clubs under our Program’s umbrella.

Annual Frequency

∙ Four Seasons Club: Donating four times* during the calendar year (Jan. 1 through Dec. 31) earns you our popular long-sleeved Four Seasons T-shirt. Each year we unveil a new design, making this a fun item to collect.

The 2012 T-shirt:

Upon your fourth donation, you’ll receive an email with instructions on how to order your shirt. Not sure if we have your email address on file? Log on to your donor account, then click on “My Profile”.

*Double red blood cell (DRBC) donors earn this shirt after two donations due the 16-week deferral period.

∙ Ten Times in 2012 (2013, 2014 and so on): Similar to the structure of the Four Seasons Club, once you reach your tenth donation within the calendar year, you’ve earned a special gift, which we change each year. The gift for 2012 is a 60" metal shaft umbrella seen here:

If you plan on making ten donations this year, please make sure we have your email address on file by logging on to your donor account. We’ll need this in order to send instructions on ordering the gift.

Points Per Visit

Did you know each time you visit us, you earn points to use in our online store? Below is a guide to point accumulations, which reset on Jan. 1 each year:

▪ Visit 1 = 100 points
▪ Visit 2 = 125 points
▪ Visit 3 = 150 points
▪ Visit 4+ = 175 points


This applies to whole blood, platelet, and RBC + plasma donors.

DRBC donors have a slightly different schedule:

▪ Visit 1 = 200 points
▪ Visit 2 = 225 points
▪ Visit 3 = 250 points

To check your point balance and browse the online store, please log on to your donor account here.

Total Lifetime Donations

Those who are able to reach a total of 100 or more lifetime donations join our Precious Mettle club. On the day of the 100th (200th, 300th, etc.) donation, we’ll have a small celebration including a banner showcasing your milestone plus a bag of gifts for you to take home. With your permission, we’ll take a picture of the celebration and feature it on our Facebook page.

In addition, each fall, we host the Precious Mettle Breakfast, a catered event at an off-site venue. Donors enjoy the warm atmosphere of good company, along with guest speakers, breakfast buffet, and no needles!

Membership in each part of our Loyalty Program happens automatically as the different milestones are reached. We keep track of your donation history for you, though we certainly encourage you to do so as well in order to stay on track with your routine!

Questions about our Loyalty Program? Contact Jennifer at czks@stanford.edu or 650-724-7187.

How Did RBCs Evolve?

By Billie Rubin, Hemoglobin’s Catabolic Cousin, reporting from the labs of Stanford Blood Center

Ill-conceived blood transfusions go back to the 1600's (disastrous transfusions of lamb's blood into humans), and the discovery of the ABO system goes back to the early 1900s. But just how old is blood itself? A picture from the Smithsonian in 2009 showed a red blood cell (RBC) in the soft tissue of a Tyrannosaurus Rex bone from 68 million years ago.

But blood cells go back, really far back. The first ones to evolve may have performed a mixed function of what white blood cells and red blood cells do now. Here's what the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institute of Health has to say: "The most primitive blood cell may have been a protohemocyte which was first involved in phagocytosis and nutrition. When metazoans (sponges) appeared [hundreds of millions of years ago], their "blood" cells, the archeocytes, were phagocytic. [Later] a progressive differentiation of several leukocytic types occurred. Differentiated cells appeared that distributed food and oxygen, thus erythrocytes evolved in certain marine or polychaete annelids [worms]."

In other words, the earliest ancestor of blood cells may have been one type of cell that provided both immunity and energy to the organism. Later, in what may have been sponges or marine worms, this “proto” blood cell evolved into several types of cells involved with immunity (WBCs) and other blood cells that distributed nutrients (plasma) and oxygen (RBCs).