Children's Hospital Needs Platelet Donors
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — A five-day platelets drive is scheduled Monday at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, and donors will get a chance to win tickets to a Los Angeles Kings second-round playoff game at the Staples Center.
The requirements for donating platelets are the same as for donating blood. People who have taken aspirin or other anti-inflammatory drugs in the previous 48 hours are not allowed to donate.
Platelets are the cells in blood that help to form clotting and avoid excessive bleeding. Patients receiving chemotherapy or radiation treatment and those who have had a bone marrow transplant have especially low platelet counts and can easily lose blood. Platelet donations are in high demand for children undergoing these treatments.
Everyone who donates will be entered in a drawing for hockey tickets. One donor will receive a hockey stick signed by the entire Kings team.
Additional information about what has been dubbed as "Platelets for Playoffs" is available on the playoff portion of the Kings' website or the hospital's website.
Forty-six donors attended a platelets drive earlier in the month, including 38 who gave double or triple units, meaning they were able to help two or three more children, according to Jeff Moeller, the Kings' senior director of communications.
More than 90 children will be helped by the platelets donated during that drive, Moeller said.
Appointments are required to donate platelets and can be made by calling (323) 361-2441 or emailing blooddonorcenter@chla.usc.edu. Appointments are available at 7:30 a.m., 8 a.m., 10 a.m., 10:30 a.m. 12:30 p.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. daily throughout the drive. Donating takes approximately two hours.
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