About – Platelets Donation

The blood that is collected during a routine blood donation drive is called 'Whole Blood'. Ideally after collection ‘whole blood’ should be centrifuged and split into its components. By doing so one is able to ensure that a single unit of ‘whole blood’ can benefit many persons.

Platelets, the component responsible for clotting of blood, have a life of only 5 days after collection. Therefore, more intensive planning is required to ensure that Platelets are made available to those in need

The layperson is not aware that Platelets can be made available in the form of Random Donor Platelets (RDPs) or Single Donor Platelets. The Platelets that are normally available with blood banks are in the form of Random Donor Platelets. These are obtained after separation of components from blood that is collected in routine blood donation drives.

Role of Platelets
Blood is made up of the following components:
Blood Cells
White Blood Cells
Platelets
Plasma

Platelets play the important role of formation of a clot whenever there is a rupture of a blood vessel. The clot seals the blood vessel and prevents any further loss of life-saving blood.