Types of Donation
Blood donations can be categorized several ways. One way is according to the nature of the intended recipients and their relationship to the donor, as follows:
- Allogeneic Donations
- allogeneic donation
- directed donation
- designated donation - Autologous Donation
Another way to characterize donation types is according to how the donation is collected:
- Whole Blood
- Apheresis
Whole Blood Donation
The most common type of blood donation is a whole blood collection. Approximately 450 mL of whole blood is collected by aseptic venepuncture. Depending on a donor's size, this is about eight to ten per cent of the total blood volume of the average donor. The average amount of blood in one person is five litres. Each year, CBS collects over 900,000 units of whole blood.
From the main CBS Web site:
Donation Types
Whole blood is collected into a multi-bag collection system. The primary collection bag contains 70 mL of an anticoagulant / preservative solution (Citrate, Phosphate, Dextrose, or CPD*). One satellite bag contains 110 mL of a nutrient solution (Saline, Adenine, Glucose, Mannitol, SAGM*). The CPD/SAGM system maintains acceptable red blood cell viability for a 42-day storage period.
*CPD = citric acid 3.27 g/L, sodium citrate 26.3 g/L, sodium acid phosphate 2.51 g/L, dextrose 25.5 g/L.
*SAGM = sodium chloride 8.77 g/L, dextrose 9.00 g/L, adenine 0.169 g/L, mannitol 5.25 g/L.
Whole blood is comprised of red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, and plasma. Whole blood donations are processed to separate the red blood cells, plasma, and platelets creating three distinct blood products for transfusion to patients. The white cells, which are not needed, are removed by leukoreduction filters.
Updated: October 2011