The Little Rock and North Little Rock police and fire departments recently put cross-river rivalry to work for a good cause -- recruiting blood donors for the American Red Cross. It was the Battle of the Badges blood drive competition, a contest to see which city could get the most people to come out and donate.
Diabetics are allowed to donate blood. So after work June 26 I headed to the Patrick Henry Hays Senior Center in North Little Rock to make my donation. (The Little Rock drive was June 25.)
I showed my donor identification card and signed in, then read through the donation materials. After a few minutes it was time to go through "intake," a screening where a technician gives you a "mini physical," takes your temperature and blood pressure and checks your hemoglobin level.
I was asked if I'd be a double red cell donor, which allows the donor to give two units of red blood cells during one donation. In that procedure, the cells are kept, and the plasma and platelets are returned to the donor's body. One donation goes farther. But since they take twice the usual amount of your red cells, and those take a while to be replenished in the body, you can't donate again for 112 days. Normally, donations should be 56 days apart.
The process is done with a machine named the Alyx Component Collection System. It uses a technology called apheresis (pronounced af-uh-REE-sis). Information I found on RedCrossBlood.org explains it this way:
Instead of collecting the blood directly into a bag, the donor's blood flows into the Alyx machine, which separates the components. The red blood cells are kept, and what remains goes back into the body, along with a small amount of saline fluid to make up for the lost blood volume.
The system is closed and sterile, with a single-use disposable needle and plastic tubing.
So, how was my experience? I'll start by saying it was interesting to watch the process, although there was a hiccup or two.
We started with the right arm. I watched the efficient and friendly Red Cross phlebotomist as she got stuff together, swabbed my arm with the iodine and stuck in the needle. The blood flow started slowly, then got even slower until it pretty much stopped coming out correctly, which caused Alyx to beep a few times.
By this time Alyx and I were on a first-name basis.
After some discussion, the phlebotomist decided to try my other arm. You can do that as long as they haven't taken too much blood out already. She moved the first needle and discarded the whole tube-and-bag caboodle. I changed positions so that she could reach my left arm.
Thankfully, that one worked. I was able to see the computer monitor, where there is an image of a reclining person. When the blood was coming out of me, I could see arrows moving outward from the body. When it reversed and the plasma and platelets were put back in, the arrows reversed and pointed back at the person on the screen.
After about 30 minutes and three cycles of fluids going in and out, we were done. Of course, I had two needle marks as souvenirs, but there wasn't much bruising, and they healed quickly.
I did experience some dizziness and was lightheaded for about 24 hours or so afterward. I made sure to drink more water than usual and to take it easy, and the feelings went away. The usual donation of one pint has never affected me that way.
When I was done I scored a couple of Chick-fil-A sandwiches, a few snacks and a Red Cross T-shirt. Overall it was a pretty good day.
So who won the battle?
Together the two cities collected 139 pints of blood. North Little Rock recruited 72 donors, while Little Rock had 67.
But I'd say the real winners are the people of the state, who just might receive some of that blood.
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ActiveStyle on 07/06/2015