Boston Standard Plumbing &Heating Staff Make Platelet Donations
Entire staff participates in platelet donation through Kraft Family Blood Donor Center.
- Boston, MA-NH (1888PressRelease) May 18, 2011 - Boston Standard Plumbing & Heating owner Joe Wood and his staff always try to go the extra mile for their customers but Wood and his team may have raised the bar. In the past month, the entire staff of Boston Standard Plumbing & Heating became platelet donors to support the work of The Jimmy Fund at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute's Kraft Family Blood Donor Center in Boston.
Platelets, a component of blood, are used to support chemotherapy patients, organ transplant recipients and people with weakened immune systems. Platelets are normally manufactured by the body, and help in blood clotting, healing, and the repair and regeneration of connective tissues. Chemotherapy patients and those with compromised immune systems require platelets to support their recovery.
Healthy people make platelets by the trillions each day, but platelets aren't that abundant in whole-blood transfusions. The need for platelets is critical, since platelets have a much shorter useful life than red blood cells do, and single-donor platelet treatments can limit potential exposure to infections in immunocompromised patients.
Platelet donation is actually easier on the body than whole blood donation is because unlike blood donation, platelet donation doesn't remove much fluid from the body. Instead, platelets are filtered out of the donor's blood, and the blood is returned to the donor. The entire process takes between an hour-and-a half and two hours, after which the donor can return to work.
"The Center is set up with very comfortable chairs and has a large collection of movies you can watch while you donate," says Wood, whose wife works at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and who first told Wood about platelet donation. Wood says that he and his staff plan to repeat their platelet donations every three months.
Not everyone can be a platelet donor. Women who have had children carry more antibodies in their blood, which may be responsible for some adverse reactions among platelet recipients. To minimize this risk, the Center seeks to recruit healthy men, as well as women who have never been pregnant, and who have A+, B+ and O+ blood types.
"We all live in the area and we want to contribute to the Boston community," says Wood. Platelet donation is a very simple, meaningful way to do that." And, he adds, " "It can be a very nice break from work."
About Boston Standard Plumbing & Heating
Boston Standard Plumbing and Heating, located at 51 Park Street in Dorchester, specializes in residential plumbing, heating and cooling repairs. 24-hour emergency service is available from licensed, insured Master and Journeyman plumbers. Please contact Boston Standard Plumbing and Heating at (617) 288-2911 or visit us on the Web at http://www.bostonstandardplumbing.com/.
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