{"id":257,"date":"2021-02-19T14:14:24","date_gmt":"2021-02-19T20:14:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/betterpathology.com\/?p=257"},"modified":"2022-10-11T09:28:20","modified_gmt":"2022-10-11T14:28:20","slug":"we-have-no-bananas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/betterpathology.com\/?p=257","title":{"rendered":"We Have No Bananas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When Texas freezes over, most everything closes.  That includes blood collection centers, which were closed for 5 days this week.  I\u2019m writing to encourage you to donate blood.  If you\u2019re a bottom-line person, you can skip this blog, find a donation site, and sign-up to give blood by clicking here<\/a>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those of you still with me, this is what I saw at the grocery store last night:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There were no bananas.  What does that have to do with blood donation?  Read on; I\u2019ll tell you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blood has four parts.  First, there are the red cells which carry oxygen to the tissues in your body.  Oxygen is the fuel that makes cells go.  Without oxygen, cells get cold and die.  When people bleed, they lose these fuel-carriers, and their body goes on the biologic version of rolling blackouts, shunting blood towards essential internal organs at the expense of less vital parts like fingers and toes.  The second part of blood are white cells.  These are the infection fighting cells of your immune system.  Like first responders, white cells are carried by blood to the front lines of battle, where they protect you from invasion.  Third, blood contains platelets which are little bits of larger cells that act like the Fix-A-Flat<\/a> you put in bicycle tires.  Platelets circulate in the blood looking for holes to plug, helping slow down or stop bleeding.  The fourth part of blood is plasma, the liquid part.  Plasma contains proteins, hormones, antibodies<\/a>, clotting factors, and all the other stuff that needs to be carried from one part of your body to another.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most people have all four parts of blood in excess, but the blood center will test before collection to make sure you will not miss the unit you donate.  The unit you give is divided into three parts, so every donation helps three different people.  The collected red cells are separated into one bag, the platelets into another bag, and the plasma into a third bag.  The white cells collected are not used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Red cells are like milk.  They must be refrigerated, and they expire after about a month (up to 42 days).  Plasma is like frozen vegetables.  Once frozen, plasma can be stored for a year.  But platelets are like bananas.  They are stored at room temperature, and they are only good for five days.   So when Texas freezes over, we run out of bananas, and we run out of platelets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blood bank inventories are slim during the first part of the year.  After the holidays, people don\u2019t feel like donating blood.  That\u2019s understandable, but our hospital blood banks suffer critical shortages as a result.  This year is no exception; blood banks were dealing with critical shortages before the freezing weather. But two massive winter storms this week have reduced blood inventories to nearly nothing.  That\u2019s why your urgent action is needed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no substitute for donated blood.  There are no synthetic red cells or platelets, and there is no substitute for human plasma<\/a> when it is needed.  To have blood products available when you or your family need it, you must make blood available to your neighbors today.  Please, your community needs your blood.  Find a donation site, and sign-up to give blood by clicking here<\/a>.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Texas freezes over, most everything closes.  That includes blood collection centers, which were closed for 5 days this week.  I\u2019m writing to encourage you to donate blood.  If you\u2019re a bottom-line person, you can skip this blog, find a donation site, and sign-up to give blood by clicking here.   For those of you still with me, this is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":254,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[13,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-13","category-blood-donation"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1062,"url":"https:\/\/betterpathology.com\/?p=1062","url_meta":{"origin":257,"position":0},"title":"O Goodness","author":"Kevin Homer, MD","date":"September 7, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The pandemic is a war, and our objective is survival.\u00a0\u00a0Many have asked what they can do to help the war effort.\u00a0\u00a0One way is to donate.\u00a0\u00a0I\u2019m not asking for your money.\u00a0\u00a0I\u2019m asking for your blood.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A chronic blood shortage has existed throughout the pandemic, but blood becomes even scarcer during surges.\u00a0\u00a0There\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2021"","block_context":{"text":"2021","link":"https:\/\/betterpathology.com\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":139,"url":"https:\/\/betterpathology.com\/?p=139","url_meta":{"origin":257,"position":1},"title":"Convalescent Plasma","author":"Kevin Homer, MD","date":"November 26, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"What is convalescent plasma and how can it help someone with COVID-19? 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To be sure, anti-viral therapy can help control diseases caused by certain viruses.\u00a0\u00a0For example,\u00a0antiretroviral drugs\u00a0such as AZT are beneficial\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2020"","block_context":{"text":"2020","link":"https:\/\/betterpathology.com\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":311,"url":"https:\/\/betterpathology.com\/?p=311","url_meta":{"origin":257,"position":2},"title":"Janssen Pause","author":"Kevin Homer, MD","date":"April 24, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"These blogs advocate caution and skepticism, specifically in response to the COVID pandemic, but more generally in response to all \u201cscientific\u201d proclamations.\u00a0\u00a0Don\u2019t \u201cfollow the science\u201d blindly.\u00a0\u00a0Instead use your \u201csmell test\u201d before believing anything labelled as science.\u00a0\u00a0Remember that science does not prove reality.\u00a0\u00a0Instead, science proves what is not\u00a0real.\u00a0\u00a0We know much less\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2021"","block_context":{"text":"2021","link":"https:\/\/betterpathology.com\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":77,"url":"https:\/\/betterpathology.com\/?p=77","url_meta":{"origin":257,"position":3},"title":"What is a COVID Test?","author":"Kevin Homer, MD","date":"October 29, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"It may surprise you to learn that there is no test for COVID-19, the disease of the pandemic. \u00a0Instead, tests look for SARS-CoV-2, the virus known to cause COVID-19, or the body\u2019s response to SARS-CoV-2. \u00a0These different tests are all commonly (but inaccurately) called \u201cCOVID Tests\u201d, probably because it is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2020"","block_context":{"text":"2020","link":"https:\/\/betterpathology.com\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":342,"url":"https:\/\/betterpathology.com\/?p=342","url_meta":{"origin":257,"position":4},"title":"Antibodies after Vaccination and Disease","author":"Kevin Homer, MD","date":"June 6, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Last time, we built a mental\u00a0model of the SARS-CoV-2 virus\u00a0and used that model to make predictions of antibody test results.\u00a0\u00a0This time we will see how that model squares against real-world observations. Here\u2019s the table we created last time: InfectedUninfectedVaccinatedS+ N+S+ N-UnvaccinatedS+ N+S- N- With their permission, I tested more than\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2021"","block_context":{"text":"2021","link":"https:\/\/betterpathology.com\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":334,"url":"https:\/\/betterpathology.com\/?p=334","url_meta":{"origin":257,"position":5},"title":"New Clotting Disorder Caused by Vaccine","author":"Kevin Homer, MD","date":"May 15, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"We\u2019ve already discussed the\u00a0rare clotting disorder\u00a0associated with COVID-19 vaccinations, resulting in the pause of the Janssen vaccine last month.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s time to take a deeper dive to understand more about this disorder. To start, we must learn a little about platelets. It'll be quick, I promise. 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