When we hear the word Blood Donation, most of us only know that it means having at least a pint of your blood drawn to meet the need of sick or injured people. However, it is only one out of several types of donations that are available in medical field. Since blood consist of several aspects such as blood plasma and platelets, there are other Blood Donation types conducted by Red Cross organizations or hospitals, depend on their needs. If you are a frequent blood donor and is seeking different way to contribute to local blood drives, it is good for you to know other donation types.
Besides the common Blood Donation type that is known as whole blood donation, there is also a donation type in which the donation officer or nurse takes only your red blood cells, returning the plasma and platelets back into your body. This is called the double red cell donation and conducted by a special machine called aphaeresis machine. This type is recommended for people with O, A negative, and B negative blood type. The same machine is also used to conduct the plasma and platelet aphaeresis donations that go on the other way of double red cell donation.