tuesday, february 19, 1980
daily nebraskan
paga 7
Plasma corporation donations help hemophiliacs
By Skip Volkmann
A dedicated reporter will give blood for a good story,
a story that tells it like it is. So when this one was asked
to donate blood at Lincoln Plasma Corp. and write about
the experience, I jumped (sort of) at the opportunity.
Lincoln Plasma Corp. at 2021 0 St., runs advertise
ments that say, "Earn $100 a month for 2 or 3 hours a
week of your spare time. You may save a life!"
Plasma donated at the Plasma Corp. will be used
primarily for treatment of hemophilia, a genetic disorder
that prevents the blood from clotting. Without the plasma,
a hemophiliac could bleed to death from a small scratch.
Plasma is a clear liquid in the blood that contains im
portant proteins.
The combination of money and a chance to help
people draws more than 400 donors a week, said Roxanne
Zahn, managerof Plasma Corp. Three-fourths of the
donors are college students. -
50,000 donations
At 12:45 pjn. on Tuesday I became donor number
3,742. Since the Plasma Corporation opened in January,
1977, donors have given almost 50,000 donations of
plasma, Zahn said.
Walking out the door at 4:15 there was' a noticeable
but not annoying stiffness in my arm and $10 in myK
pocket.
The intervening 3& hours were filled with forms and
tests and one minor complication with a "jumping"
vein when the needle was inserted. This made my dona
tion longer than the two hour average for the first visit.
In the waiting room, I was given an "informed con
sent" form that explained the plasma withdrawal pro
cess and possible risks.
The process is called "plasmapheresis." Whole blood
is withdrawn from a vein in the arm and then centrifuged
(separated by centrifugal force) to separate the oxygen
carrying red blood cells and the white blood cells that
fight infection from the plasma.
Process, repeated
After the spearation, the pfasma is removed and frozen,
and the red and white blood cells are transfused back into
the donor. The process is then repeated, blood being
withdrawn and separated, and blood cells being replaced,
all through the same needles, which is inserted only once.
Some of the risks listed on the consent form include
faintness, possible infection, clotting of the blood on the
vein and equipment failure.
"There haven't been any problems here," Zahn said,
"although we have had people faint. I think it's mainly
from the anxiety of donating blood for the first time."
The most serious problem would result from a donor
receiving red blood cells that are not his own after the
plasma has been separated. The allergic reaction to some
one else's blood could cause death, the form said.
"In my eyes, it's impossible to (return) the wrong
cells," Zahn said.
Five checks
She said there are five checks to insure that the correct
cells return to the correct donor, beginning with careful
labeling of withdrawn blood. When the red blood cells
are returned, the donor reads the identifying labels to
the attendant, the attendant reads them to the donor, and
the patient visually confirms that the label is identical to
the number on his records.
For related story see Page 9 .
In addition, when a bag of blood is taken to be centri
fuged, a square plastic tag is tied to it, and the tag will
only fit in the stand from which it was taken.
During my donation, these procedures were carefully
followed, and I saw no failure to check the labels of any '
donor.
Understanding the risks involved, 1 signed the consent
form and had my donor record prepared. Weight, height,
temperature, blood pressure and medical history were
recorded.
My middle finger was "poked" and from the drop of
blood, my blood type was determined to be O positive.
The medical director gave me a brief physical, checking
my ears, throat, and heartbeat.
Donors couched
The preliminaries over, I was taken into the large
donating room where twenty waist-high, black contour
couches are neatly arranged straight out from the wall.
The donating room struck me as being similar to
another place I had been. It is reminiscent of a bus station
because there are people waiting, waiting in this case for
about 1 ': hours while the blood is twice withdrawn and
replaced.
Most of the donors appeared to be students. Many of
them read, some stared blankly into space, periodically
checking the tube leading from their arm, and some closed
their eyes and relaxed.
I laid down and the attendant vigorously cleansed the
crook of my left arm with three solutions to guard against
infection.
Jumping veins
She located a large vein and inserted ihe hollow needle.
But the vein "jumped," slipped away from the needle and
repeatedly resisted the probe of the needle.
It wasn't painful although it was disconcerting to see
a needle maneuvered coaxingly under the skin.
The withdrawal of blood was painless. When the blood
was taken to be centrifuged, a saline solution was con
nected to the tube attached to the needle and the pressure
and coolness of the incoming solution could be felt.
When the red blood cells were returned, they were
much cooler causing my hands to become cold, and
fingers become tight.
But the procedure was not overly uncomfortable for
me and I would not hestitate to donate again, consider
ing that there is only one source for plasma, and that's
people..
Ml.
Continued from Page 1
The CFA has scheduled its appeals hear
ing on student, fees for 7 p.m. tonight in
the Union. Both ASUN and the University
Program Council, budgeted to get 89 cents
and $1 .57 respectively in per student fees,
are planning to appeal.
Most students seemed to feel that the
health center was not used enough by
students to warrant its share of fees, and
that, when it was used, its services were too
expensive to make it worthwhile.
Never used center
Mary Fejfar, a senior economics major,
said she hasn't used the health center in the
four years she's been at UNL. '
. "I'm in favor of the concept of support
ing student organizations with student fees,
but I'd be a lot happier if they'd take out
the $32.62 that goes to the health center,"
Fejfar said. "I've been paying student fees
for four years, so I've put out over $200 to
pay for. the health center, and I've never
even used it."
Another senior , broadcasting major Len
Pavelka, agreed with Fejfar that the center
is getting "way too much, considering I
don't even use the health center. I certain
ly don't think it's worth $32.62 of my
money each semester." '
Likewise, 26-year-old English major
Tom Wakeley said funds to the center
should be cut.
"I don't think the health center needs
that much money," Wakeley said. "I've
never even been there."
Wakeley thought money should be cut
from the health center's allocations and
turned over the UPC because, "I love the
speakers."
DN share ,
The other major area of student concern
was student fee funding for the Daily
Nebraskan; most of those questioned felt
the paper should receive a larger share of,
their student fees.
"I don't think the Daily Nebraskan gets
enough," Pavelka said. "It's the one thing
on the campus that's used more by every
student consistently ... yet it gets the
least amount of money ." -
Wakeley agreed that the Daily
Nebraskan is "pretty worthwhile. It's
probably used more universally than any of
the others (agencies receiving student
fees), . ; . it's such an educational tool."
Senior business major Russ Fideler said
he also thought the paper should receive a
larger share of student fees because, "it's
fairly accessible and does a good job. At
least it provides a concrete service for
students, unlike most of the other organi
zations." Other suggestions for improving the
allocation of student fees included:
increasing the amount of money going to
UPC and the Recreation Dept., cutting the
amount of fees received by ASUN and the ,
unions, and using fees to support the
Women's Resource Center and minority
campus organizations.
Don't be cx Gas Guzzler!
Share a ride, take the bus.
or walk.
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