Celebrating the Donor Center's diamond anniversary

The Donor Center at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is celebrating 60 years of helping patients receive the critical blood products they need for their care. An estimated half a million volunteers have donated blood and blood products here since it opened in 1964.

Located on the main campus, the Donor Center was established by Elias Cohen, PhD, then-director of the Roswell Park Blood Bank. He wanted to be able to provide platelets explicitly for transfusions for Roswell Park leukemia patients. Today, the Donor Center is one of the three oldest platelet collection centers in the U.S. and collects whole blood products as well.

“Roswell Park’s Donor Center exists to meet the transfusion needs of the patients of Roswell Park,” says Elizabeth McCabe, RN, clinical nurse manager of the Donor Center. “Our patients typically need platelets and blood transfusions because of their diagnosis and their treatment. We always need platelets. We transfuse more platelets here at Roswell Park than all the hospitals combined in Western New York, because of being a cancer facility.”

Cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation, surgery and immunotherapy, severely diminish the body’s ability to produce platelets — tiny cells that are made in the bone marrow from larger cells. Platelets are essential for the blood to clot properly, to stop bleeding and allow wounds and incisions to heal. Hospitals that specialize in cancer treatment have an ongoing high need for platelets. While platelets are not “blood type specific” and do not have to match the blood type of the patient receiving them (unlike whole blood), platelet donations have a limited shelf life of only five days. This means consistent platelet donations are needed to keep up with the demand.

Ensuring a safe supply of blood products

“It’s a delicate dance. We take our mission very seriously, and the Donor Center team is dedicated to collecting safe blood products for our patients, while respecting the value of each and every donor,” says McCabe, adding that a platelet donation takes approximately two hours, while whole blood donation takes about an hour.

“Each platelet or blood donor is medically screened to determine eligibility. Their completed donation is tested for blood type and specific infectious diseases, such as Hepatitis B and C, HIV, HTLV-1, syphilis, and Zika and West Nile viruses. This testing usually takes two to three days to complete and is repeated with each and every donation, no matter how many times someone donates.”

Roswell Park also has an active directed donor program: “A family member or friend who meets certain criteria can donate platelets or blood specifically for a patient in advance of a scheduled procedure or transfusion,” McCabe explains.

The Roswell Park Donor Center plays a valuable role in patient care, filling a critical need patients depend on, and can accommodate up to 14 platelet donation appointments and 10 whole blood donation appointments a day. In addition to its unique national status as a platelet donation location, the facility is also novel in that it is staffed entirely by licensed nurses.

The Donor Center operates under FDA and New York State mandates that, while there must be at least one RN available to oversee the collection of blood products, the person collecting blood can be unlicensed personnel. “Here, all our blood collection procedures are done by Registered Nurses and Licensed Practical Nurses,” McCabe says.

Volunteers always welcome

The 60th Anniversary celebration includes giveaways, media outreach, a Donor Center 60th Anniversary T-shirt for new donors — and a “Donor Challenge” to engage at least 60 new blood donors.

“We always need new donors. Even with a full appointment schedule, donors may need to cancel appointments or may not be eligible to donate. People get sick or are sometimes deferred on the day of the donation,” McCabe says. “Even with our own Donor Center, we are not 100% self-sufficient and rely on vendors across the country when needed. There is a nationwide shortage of platelets and blood, so everyone is struggling. We need donors. If you were deferred in the past, you may be eligible to donate again,” says McCabe.

“I stress that message because sometimes donors are under the impression that if they were deferred or turned down once, they can never donate again. That may no longer be true. Our criteria have changed quite a bit in the last few years, and you may be able to be that special donor to our patients. Donors can call to find out.”

The Donor Center welcomes anyone to call and ask if they are eligible to become a donor, she adds: “We will make you feel welcome. We have a great team of nurses, comfortable chairs, refreshments, TVs to watch while donating and even pay for your parking.

“What also makes us unique is that our products stay here, and many people like having the option to donate locally in the community. All blood and platelets collected at Roswell Park stay at Roswell Park and are transfused to Roswell Park patients. They can donate with us. It’s a very kind, good thing to do.”