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Joel Newman is a well-known nationally and internationally as a tax scholar and lawyer. He is the author of Federal Income Taxation: Cases, Problems and Materials, now in its 5th edition, and has written and lectured extensively on tax and professional responsibility topics.
- Overview
- What happens when you donate blood
- The different types of donations
- Why blood donations matter
- Why donate blood during a pandemic
Why are blood donations so important, including during a pandemic? Who benefits from them? And what happens when a person goes to donate blood? To find out, Medical News Today interviewed consultant hematologist Dr. Joel Newman.
Blood is a precious resource in healthcare the world over. According to data from the American Red Cross, in the United States alone, an estimated 6.8 million people choose to donate blood.
The World Health Organization (WHO) note that, at a global level, blood donation centers collect around 118.5 million blood donations every year.
According to the WHO, in low income countries, children younger than 5 years old are the primary beneficiaries of blood donations, while in high income countries, older adults aged 60 years and above are on the receiving end of most blood transfusions.
But, regardless of where in the world people live, why is it so important that they donate blood if they can? Who benefits from all the transfusions, and why? And why should people keep on donating blood during a pandemic?
To answer these and other questions, Medical News Today interviewed an expert, Dr. Joel Newman, consultant hematologist in the East Sussex Healthcare branch of the National Health Service (NHS), in the United Kingdom.
MNT: What does the process of donating blood look like?
Dr. Joel Newman: It depends [on] whereabouts you’re giving [blood] and everywhere does it slightly differently, but in general, there’s either a questionnaire or a health check, either on the phone beforehand or physically in the blood donation center.
They want to make sure that you are well, because, sometimes, if people are starting to feel unwell before they donate blood and then a day or two later on, they might become unwell with an infection, there’s always that potential that that infection was in [the] bloodstream at the time of the donation. And, for some blood products, that can be an issue if that’s given through the donation to someone else.
So, it’s just a simple health check to make sure you are well, and well enough to donate blood, because blood donation is a voluntary [act] and, you know, they need to make sure they’re not going to cause you harm by taking blood from you.
There will often be a finger prick test or a blood test from the vein, just to make sure you’re not anemic prior to giving that blood transfusion to make sure they’re not going to cause you more harm by [collecting your blood].
And, as part of that health check, there would be lots of screening questions just to make sure you are in a good position — to make sure you haven’t had any exotic holidays to areas where there might be infections that you might unknowingly pass on, and so on. So there [are] lots different rules about [blood donation].
MNT: Can you tell us a little about what difference there is between blood donation, platelet donation, and plasma donation?
Dr. Joel Newman: When you donate for blood, actually, what is stored is the red cells, so all the plasma is not given in a donation of blood. So, if you have a bag of blood in the hospital to give to a patient, there will be a very small amount of plasma in it. The rest of it will be some fluid with nutrients to try and maintain the health of that blood, but it would be what we call “packed red cells” — it’s just the red cells suspended in that fluid.
As part of the donation process, the plasma is settled out, and that is taken off separately from that blood donation and can be used. It could be frozen, and we could call it “fresh frozen plasma,” or FFP.
Now, that can be used to help clotting because there are lots of different proteins in FFP, which we use for clotting, say if someone has clotting problems or bleeding problems in hospital. That’s what we’ll use often to help treat them.
You can also get platelets from that donation when you settle it out, and you centrifuge it; there’s a little band where the platelets sit called “the buffy coat,” and they can extract those. And, in the hospital parlance, we call it “a pool of platelets,” because usually, you need platelets from four different people, four different donations to put together to make one pool of platelets.
These days, however, the majority of platelets [collection] is done by a different technique — [in the U.K.] also through the National Blood Service — called “apherisis.” And that [process uses] a special machine that [works in the following way]: Rather than donating a unit of blood, you have two cannulas, one on each arm, and your blood is taken out and is passed through a machine where it centrifuges it, and it takes off the platelets and returns the blood back to you.
MNT: Why is it important to donate blood? Who benefits from it?
Dr. Joel Newman: There are lots of different uses for blood and [for] the components that we use in it. The classic one is the red cells for people who are anemic.
And there are lots of different causes of anemia; [there are] the ones that you might think of more classically, [such as] bleeding from an accident or a trauma, or from an operation [where there] happens to be a lot of blood [loss]. And there are a lot of procedures, lots of surgeries where people do tend to lose blood and may need a blood transfusion to keep them safe through that procedure.
But then there are lots of other people, like people with sickle cell disease and thalassemia, who may need blood transfusions on a regular basis to maintain their health.
Or cancer patients who are in chemotherapy that suppresses the bone marrow function that stops people’s blood counts recovering temporarily, who may need a blood transfusion in-between times [when they receive treatment] just to keep them well while they’re having their treatment.
So there are lots of different reasons why we use blood [in transfusions], and donating it is really useful.
MNT: And what would you say to people who may be specifically scared of coming in to donate now, during the pandemic? Why is it still important to donate at this time, and is it still safe to do it?
Dr. Joel Newman: [Donating blood] is still important now, although the use of blood transfusions from the perspective of surgery has decreased a little [because] there are fewer operations happening.
[Health centers and hospitals] are still recovering in terms of procedures, and so the need for blood transfusions will start to increase again.
The areas where you give blood are made safe; people are wearing the appropriate protective equipment, the spacing of chairs is done appropriately; they are safe places for you to go and have these things done.
And the other thing to think about is that blood has a “shelf life.” After it’s been donated, depending on where in the world you have it done, its “shelf life” is between about 35 and 42 days, depending on which area you are in, and after that, it can no longer be used.
So if no one donated blood from the beginning of the pandemic till now, we would have run out of blood.
Jun 8, 2022 · Last month, a large property that was long owned by late Craig Electronics founder Joel Newman and his wife, Edith Newman, hit the market for $100 million. Until now, nothing in Golden Beach...
Dr Newman investigates and treats a wide range of haematological conditions including anaemia, leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma, myeloproliferative disorders (myelofibrosis, polycythaemia, essential thrombocythaemia) and more. He is an expert in the interpretation of unusual blood test results, and can undertake a bone marrow biopsy where needed to ...
Thomas and Denzinger is known for the creativity of its architecture, for the highly individualistic response of each of its selective projects both to the specific site as well as to the spiritual considerations, and physical needs, of its clients.
Dr Joel Newman is a specialist in the study of blood - a Consultant Haematologist. He trained at Guy's and St.Thomas' Hospitals in London, and has worked throughout the South East of England, including specialist training in Haematology at King's College Hospital.
