Urgent appeal made for platelet donation in Oman

Muscat: Due to increasing demand, the Department of Blood Banks Services (DBBS) has made an urgent appeal to people to donate platelets at the Central Blood Bank in the Wilayat of Bausher.

What are platelets?

It is one of the main colourless components of blood. Its function is to form thrombi (clots) to stop bleeding from injured blood vessels. Platelets are produced by megakaryocytes in the bone marrow.

How is platelet donation done?

Donating platelets, double red blood cells, and plasma is a type of apheresis. It is a blood collection method in which the donor is connected to a machine that extracts and separates the components of the blood (red cells, platelets, and plasma) and then returns the unused components to the donor. During this process, blood is preserved in a sterile, single-use tube set, so the donor is not at risk of contracting a blood-borne infection during the donation.