Platelet Donation: To One Person at Roswell Park, You May Be the World

BUFFALO, NY —World Blood Donor Day, a day set aside to generate awareness and encourage blood donations, will be marked this year on June 14. This month, as you reflect upon your own good health, won’t you consider giving the gift of life to someone less fortunate? Because cancer patients require blood platelet donations almost every day as part of their care, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center has an ongoing need for blood and blood platelets.

Roswell Park is seeking donors to donate blood platelets to meet an ever-increasing need. Platelets are the blood cells in your body that help stop bleeding. Treatments such as chemotherapy and bone and marrow transplantation leave patients with dangerously low levels of platelets. Without platelets and the donors who give them, patients are at increased risk of bleeding even before they can benefit from the treatments. To have a chance at life, platelet transfusions are necessary for the patient’s healthy recovery.

A donation of platelets, called plateletpheresis, is similar to donating whole blood. The simple, safe process takes approximately 90 minutes. Blood is removed from the donor and passed through a machine that separates and collects the platelets. The donor’s body quickly replaces the removed platelets.

The Roswell Park Donor Center is open six days a week, with flexible daily hours of operation. To donate, you must be at least 17 years of age and weigh at least 110 pounds. By making a commitment to be a donor, you are helping Roswell Park meet the daily needs of its cancer patients. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 845-8275 or visit our website at www.roswellpark.org/donorcenter.

The mission of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is to understand, prevent and cure cancer. Roswell Park, founded in 1898, was one of the first cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and remains the only facility with this designation in Upstate New York. The Institute is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation’s leading cancer centers; maintains affiliate sites; and is a partner in national and international collaborative programs. For more information, visit Roswell Park’s website at http://www.roswellpark.org, call 1-800-ROSWELL (1-800-767-9355) or email AskRoswell@Roswellpark.org.

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