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Plasma donations
I know that @ggenereux2014 has mentioned he might start this to clear more VA products from his blood.
I had considered it but a lady doctor friend discouraged me. She said there were concerns about the machines that separate the blood send back pollutants into your body (this apart from supposed other problems with losing serum).
The phenomenon has been described by the French medical authorities. Some machines they say have been banned. The blood collecting organization did not want to make a fuss for fear of discouraging donors. However it is very possible that this happens with other machines in other countries.
I add a few links, in French but not difficult to understand with G Translate or DeepL.:
By Coralie Lemke on 30.08.2019 at 17h23
New cases of suspicious rejections in the context of plasma and platelet donations have occurred at the French Blood Establishment (AFS). In 2018, all Haemonetics plasma machines had been removed from the French fleet for similar events.
plasma donation
During a plasma donation, the blood is filtered and then re-injected to the volunteer.
Unlike blood donation, in a plasma donation, the donor's blood is gradually re-injected. It is collected through an infusion and then filtered through a machine to recover plasma and platelets, and then re-injected into the donor's arm. This process filters three to four times as much plasma in a single donation and also allows the donor to be less fatigued. In recent years, potentially harmful substances have been re-injected into donors without their knowledge.
In 2018, following the Haemonetics scandal, half of the plasma donation machines in France were withdrawn from the French Blood Establishments (EFS), where the collections take place. On several occasions, black particles were found in the plasma bags. These black particles, initially thought to be dried blood, actually came from the gasket inside the machine. During apheresis, the blood is centrifuged to extract plasma and platelets. But with the rapid friction, the seal of the machine eventually wears out.
After several reports, the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines (ANSM) carried out a review of the Haemonetics devices. It found that the seal comprises Plenco 05351, a resin consisting of carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic (toxic to fertility) material, and Hilox 882, a ceramic composed of aluminium and chromium oxide according to a report dated 16 February 2018.
Alexandre Berthelot, head of Haemonetics France, Jean-Philippe Urrecho, the company's technical director at the time, and Guylain Cabantous, a CGT trade unionist at EFS, three whistleblowers, filed a complaint for "endangering the lives of others" against the EFS, the ANSM, the French subsidiary of Haemonetics France and the American parent company. The French Blood Establishment then organized itself to stop using these faulty machines. "Nearly 50% of the machines in France are Haemonetics. Some regions, such as Alsace, use these machines exclusively. The EFS first distributed the remaining machines over the territory and equipped itself with new models of the Fresenius brand," explains Guylain Cabantous, one of the alert launchers. The Fresenius machines for blood donation do not have a rotating joint.
"These incidents were recorded within the French Blood Establishment, using internal reports. But these reports never mention the brand name of the failing machine. However, there is no doubt, it is necessarily this one since it is the last model still used at the blood donation", explains Guylain Cabantous. The French Blood Establishment is to launch a mortality study among donors, with the help of the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) in Bordeaux. This work should compare mortality between the general population and blood, plasma and platelet donors. This is a long-term project, the results of which will not be published for many years to come.
The case would not be confined to France. From 2011 onwards, when the first suspicious reports come from France, similar observations are made in the Netherlands. The Dutch equivalent of the French Blood Establishment, called Sanquin, found plasma bags full of black particles. One of them is even transfused to a patient according to France Inter. After mentioning the presence of dried blood, Haemonetics finally admits to Sanquin that it is a residue of joints. "We have learned that the situation with Haemonetics machines is similar abroad. In countries where the brand distributes its machines in its own name, but also in countries where an intermediary service provider markets them" The same suspicions are reportedly coming from various countries around the world, including Germany, the United States, China, Australia, the Netherlands, Italy and Finland.
Machines other than those of Haemonetics could let dangerous substances into the bloodstream, such as those of the Japanese brand Terumo. The Temporary Specialized Scientific Committee (CSST) appointed by the ANSM in 2017 had carried out its expertise on the machines of both brands. Concerning those of Terumo, the SSTC had observed substances of concern, such as phthalate or bisphenol A, two endocrine disruptors that would "probably migrate in part into blood products during apheresis," explains the report published at the time. "These emanations come from the flexible plastic bags used for the donation," Guylain Cabantous told Sciences et Avenir. "It's the same principle as for baby bottles that contain harmful substances except they go into the donation pouches."
The ongoing legal proceedings against Haemonetics France, Haemonetics Monde, the EFS and the ANSM are progressing slowly. "Our filing of complaints in 2018 has allowed the French Blood Establishment to react, which has taken the decision to stop the machines. Today, donors have joined our complaint. They haven't yet been heard but we (the whistleblowers) have," continues Guylain Cabantous. For the moment, in order to collect plasma, it is impossible to do without apheresis.
"In medicine, the vast majority of the plasma collected (90%) is used to manufacture medicines for people in intensive care, for burn victims, haemophiliacs or to treat autoimmune diseases. The remaining 10% is used for transfusions.
REFERENCES B. BOISSONNET / BSIP / AFP
https://www.sciencesetavenir.fr/sante/systeme-sanguin/don-de-plasma-et-machines-jugees-defectueuses-des-lanceurs-d-alerte-portent-plainte_124325
https://www.sciencesetavenir.fr/sante/systeme-sanguin/don-de-plasma-pourquoi-300-machines-sont-mises-a-l-arret_127532
In answer to this: Move on, nothing to see here
When I gave blood they kept trying to get me to do plasma donations. When they explained it to me I thought to myself that that is insane. People have no common sense.
(face palm) so much trust and so little justification for it
Wow. 😮
Maybe it's a good thing Grant's blood clogged up the plasma machines and he went back to normal blood donations because of it! Scary stuff.
I was actually thinking of doing plasma donations, was going to start looking into it a bit more today. But thanks to you I'll definitely keep it to regular blood donations.
Does anyone know if sodium citrate does anything with vA/retinol/carotenes? Maybe there is a double mechanism of benefit from the plasma donation because of the sodium citrate. First you lose some vA in the plasma. Secondly when you give plasma they buffer the blood with sodium citrate inside the machine, and some of it will enter your body when they return your blood to you.