Jacob - Platelet Recipient
The Beacon Club Platelets
Beacon Club Loyalty Program
Platelet Donation
Host a Drive
Blood drive organizations save lives. Learn how to host a blood and platelet drive in your community with Versiti.
Donors of all blood types are encouraged to donate! Donors give platelets through a process called apheresis, which we explain in another section below.
Anyone who has ever been pregnant is encouraged to offer up their arm for a regular blood donation (called a ‘whole blood’ donation) and let staff know they’re interested in donating platelets. A small sample of blood will be taken for testing to see if they’re eligible. The reasoning behind this is that certain antibodies can develop during pregnancy that are harmful if transfused into certain patients. Unfortunately, these antibodies are present forever, so if a donor tests positive for them they will be unable to donate platelets. That being said, those donors are still eligible to donate other components!