Platelet donation center opens on UCI Health ― Irvine campus

Platelet donation center opens on UCI Health ― Irvine campus

First donors answer urgent call to ease national shortage

Orange, Calif. - The new platelet donor center inside the UCI Health Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and Ambulatory Care building opened its doors and welcomed its first donors this week.

UC Irvine women's soccer coach Danielle de Seriere and UCI Health neurosurgery resident Dr. Jordan Davies are among the donors who answered the urgent call for platelets amid a local and national shortage. The Red Cross reported this month that its national blood inventory plummeted more than 25% in July.

Platelets and blood donations of all types, especially type O, are needed.

De Seriere became a regular platelet donor a few years ago after one of her student athletes was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Many types of treatments for cancer destroy both cancer cells along with healthy ones. As a result, patients often need platelets to help prevent bleeding.

Although her student is now in remission and back on the field, de Seriere continues to give. She chooses to donate at UCI Health because, she says, "I've been an Anteater since 2007!"

Davies, meanwhile, is excited about the new, convenient on-site donor center.

"So many patients need platelets, so it's incredibly helpful to have this location dedicated to providing them."

Platelets help patients with cancer, transplant patients and those with blood disorders.

The donation process

Platelets are collected in a process called apheresis.

Through one needle in the arm, whole blood is taken from the donor and the platelets are separated and collected. The rest of the blood is then returned to the donor via a needle in the other arm.

Each unit of whole blood contains only two tablespoons of platelets. It would take six to 10 donations to supply enough platelets for a single patient. In the apheresis process, one donation can provide enough platelets for one or more patients.

The entire process can take up to 2½ hours.

To help pass the time, each donor station is equipped with a TV and a DVD player. Donors are welcome to bring a personal DVD, watch TV or watch a DVD from the center's collection.

Donor eligibility

Requirements for platelet donors are similar to those for whole blood donations, with a few exceptions. You must:

• Be at least 18 years old
• Weigh at least 110 lbs. (at least 130 lbs. is preferred)
• Be willing to give 2½ hours of time
• Be healthy with no cold or flu symptoms
• Wait three days after a whole blood donation or one week after a platelet donation

Blood donor center location and hours

UCI Health Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and Ambulatory Care building

19208 Jamboree Road, Irvine.

Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For questions, call 657-579-3878.

Donors can park for free in the Gold Parking Structure.

Make an appointment

About UCI Health

UCI Health, one of California's largest academic health systems, is the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine. The system comprises its main campus UCI Medical Center, a 459-bed, acute care hospital in Orange, Calif., four hospitals and affiliated physicians of the UCI Health Community Network in Orange and Los Angeles counties and ambulatory care centers across the region. Recognized as a Top Hospital by The Leapfrog Group, UCI Medical Center provides tertiary and quaternary care and is home to Orange County's only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, high-risk perinatal/neonatal program and American College of Surgeons-verified Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center, gold level 1 geriatric emergency department and regional burn center. UCI Health serves a region of nearly 4 million people in Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

About UCI Health - Irvine

UCI Health - Irvine, a new medical complex at the north end of the UC Irvine campus, is bringing unparalleled expertise and the finest evidence-based care that only an academic health system can offer to the communities of coastal and south Orange County. As part of UCI Health - which includes the flagship UCI Medical Center in Orange, Orange County's only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and multiple outpatient care locations - the new 1.2 million-square-foot campus will offer key clinical programs in oncology, digestive health, neurology, neurosurgery, orthopedics and spine surgery. The nation's first medical center powered by an all-electric central utilities plant, UCI Health - Irvine is home to the Joe C. Wen & Family Center for Advanced Care, a five-story, 168,000-square-foot medical facility offering multidisciplinary specialty care for children and adults, urgent care services, the Center for Children's Health and the UCI Health Center for Autism & Neurodevelopmental Disorders, and the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and Ambulatory Care building, a five-story, 225,000-square-foot structure. Coming in 2025: a seven-story, 350,000-square-foot, acute care hospital and emergency department.