Donating plasma is just collecting the plasma part of the blood. Don't take it seriously as donating blood.

□ Chen Aili

June 14 is World Blood Donor Day, and many people will participate in voluntary blood donation. Recently, the National Health Commission issued the "Chinese Citizens' Health Literacy - Basic Knowledge and Skills (2024 Edition)", Article 5 of which mentions "free blood donation, helping others and benefiting oneself", and also gives an official interpretation. At present, blood cannot be synthesized artificially, and clinical blood can only rely on voluntary and voluntary donations from healthy citizens.

The same is true for helping others by donating blood components. Previously, the "plasma donation" incident has also attracted widespread attention. So, are blood donation and plasma donation the same thing?

Donating blood is different from donating plasma

The main components of blood are blood cells and plasma. Plasma accounts for about 55% of the total blood volume. Donating blood and plasma are both important ways to help others by donating blood components, but there are big differences between the two.

First, the composition is different: blood donation generally involves donating whole blood, which is a mixture of red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and plasma; plasma donation involves donating only the plasma component, which mainly includes water, salts, enzymes, antibodies and other proteins.

The second is that the collection method is different: blood donation is directly collected and will later be separated into different components (red blood cells, plasma, platelets, etc.) in the laboratory; plasma donation is to collect the plasma part of the blood with the help of a plasmapheresis machine, and return the other components to the donor.

Third, the collection volume and frequency are different: a single blood donation is 200-400 ml, and the interval between two donations should be no less than 6 months; a single plasma donation cannot exceed 580 ml, and the interval between two donations should not be less than 14 days.

Fourth, the uses are different: whole blood or its prepared blood components are generally used for clinical blood transfusion and emergency treatment; plasma is mainly used to prepare blood products and drugs.

Things to note when donating plasma

Donating plasma is a safe, effective and beneficial behavior that deserves encouragement and support. In addition to helping others, donating plasma can promote the body's metabolism. The discharge of some metabolites in the plasma can reduce blood lipids, blood viscosity and blood uric acid levels to a certain extent, and reduce the iron load in the body. It should be emphasized that what people usually call anemia refers to the lack of red blood cells in the blood. Donating plasma generally does not cause anemia in people, nor does it endanger their lives. However, there are some conditions and precautions for donating plasma.

First, the donor standard: the donor's household registration must be within the plasma collection area designated by the health administrative department of the provincial people's government, the age range is 18-55 years old, and the age limit can be extended to 60 years old for some individuals. The male weight must be over 50 kg and the female weight must be over 45 kg.

The second is the process requirements: plasma donors must go to a fixed plasma station to complete a health check, including health consultation, physical examination, blood test, etc., and donate plasma at the station after all indicators are qualified. The whole process takes at least 1-2 hours, so the state regulations will give donors appropriate lost work subsidies.
The third is the frequency requirement: the amount of plasma collected each time shall not exceed 580 ml (including anticoagulant solution, not more than 600 grams); the interval between two plasma donations by the same plasma donor shall not be less than 14 days, and the cumulative number of plasma donations within every 12 months shall not exceed 24 times.

Fourth, precautions: After donating plasma, you need to drink more water, avoid staying up late and drinking alcohol, and avoid strenuous exercise, high-altitude work and excessive fatigue within 24 hours.

In summary, blood and plasma donations can help patients in need and are of great significance for maintaining the supply of medical resources and promoting medical research. In addition, donors can also make valuable contributions to social and medical progress through these means, bringing many physical and psychological benefits.

[The author is an associate researcher at the Beijing Institute of Genomics (National Center for Bioinformatics), Chinese Academy of Sciences]