The American Red Cross Platelet Donor Program in Portland now offers platelet donors the ability to surf the Web, answer e-mail, and watch TV or a DVD movie. This state-of-the-art donor chair provides a number of audio, visual and electronic communication functions to those who recline in it. The e-Chair offers donors the opportunity to do something for themselves, while donating life-saving platelets.

Time constraints are cited as one of the leading reasons individuals don't donate platelets. Increasing demands on people's time are making it more challenging to have enough platelets available to all patients who need them. The e-Chair provides platelet donors the opportunity to multi-task, assisting in our efforts to recruit and retain donors.

The e-Chair was donated by Baxter Healthcare. It is powered by Road Runner High Speed Online internet access donated by Time Warner! Thank you Baxter and Time Warner. The components of the ergonomically designed contoured e-Chair include many conveniences of home and office, including: a computer with a DVD player, computer monitor and keyboard, Internet connectivity and stereo headphones. These translate to benefits for platelet donors who may be interested in watching movies, listening to music, surfing the Internet, catching up on e-mail or playing computer games. These features are best suited to apheresis donations which may take one to two hours.

Platelet Donation - The Gift of Life Platelets are collected through a process called apheresis. This process uses an automated blood separating machine to remove a specific component of the blood, such as platelets, and return the remaining blood components, such as red blood cells and plasma, to the donor. This process allows more of one component of the blood to be collected than could be obtained from a whole blood donation. Apheresis platelets are most commonly used to prevent bleeding in cancer patients who may be platelet deficient as a result of their disease or therapy. While platelet donors are needed throughout the year, they are most needed during the summer months and holidays. Typically, donations decline during these time periods, but the need for blood components continues or even increases. To be eligible to donate platelets, like whole blood, a person must be at least 17 years of age, be in good health, and weigh at least 110 pounds. There is no upper age limit. Platelet donors cannot have aspirin containing products for 48 hours prior to a donation. For more information contact Ellen Russell at russelle@usa.redcross.org.

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