Time for a transfusion

Well, the time finally arrived where Tim could no longer make it through without getting some packed red cells. His hematocrit, red cell count and hemoglobin were below the threshold and he was doing a lot of sleeping and would still be tired. There were no chemo treatments these last two weeks, just a checkup on Tuesday where blood was drawn to see what the counts were like. His neutrophil count was really good of course now that he gets Neulasta as part of the triple whammy sessions, but the rest of his counts – not so good. His platelets were obviously low over the weekend since he was getting bloody nose discharges. That seems to be OK by Tuesday and the platelet count was OK and likely rising. Just those dang red cells!

Tim turns out to be AB+, so he can more or less receive any blood that is available. They do a type and cross of course to match as many factors as possible. He ended up getting two units of A+ packed cells on Wednesday.

I have to say that getting blood has both its pluses and minuses. On the minus side or course is the risk of getting some other disease from the donated blood. That has gotten a lot better through the pre-screening in the donation process but also in the tests that are performed on the blood before it is used for a patient. I myself was turned down this year because I had been in India, a known location with endemic malaria. But tests for HIV, hepatitis, and other problems are really quite thorough. The good thing about getting blood is that it renews your ability to transport oxygen and nutrients. Tim had a lot of energy that night and continues to feel better than he has in a long time. Now some questions remain as to whether he will need ongoing transfusions or if this may be the only time. We will of course find out and I’ll explore this line of questioning in his next visit to the clinic.

But for now, Tim is feeling pretty good, has leveled out of the weight, is sleeping more normal hours and had some time to spend with friends and do some work around the house. All thanks to someone else’s generosity in donating blood. So if you are blood donor, thank you so much. And if you have been thinking about donating blood, give it a shot. There are a lot of people who could use your generosity.

--bob