Red Cross brings back ‘super donor’ option Program was suspended after Sept. 11

BANGOR – For several weeks after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the American Red Cross Blood Donor Center at 900 Hammond St. didn’t take “Double Red Cell” donations. The staff was just too busy with regular donations for awhile.

By mid-December, staffers again were asking donors if they’d like to consider the Double Red Cell Program.

You might call it an option for “super donors.”

The process takes a little more time – the actual donation lasts about 45 minutes compared with the usual 10 minutes or so.

Those donating must be a little taller and heavier as well – at least 5 feet, 1 inch and 130 pounds for a man; at least 5 feet, 5 inches and 150 pounds for a woman.

The hematocrit – the concentration of red cells – also has to be a little higher for these donors.

Other than that, it’s a needle in the arm – not much different from the usual method of donating.

The accommodations are quite nice, however – a comfy chair, as opposed to one of those tables known as a “bed.”

You can drink your juice or water while donating, and you don’t have to spend 15 minutes in the canteen afterward unless you choose to.

The machine takes out two units of blood initially, then gives back a small amount of saline – salt water, actually. While that’s happening, a centrifuge spins the blood, separating out red cells, then the machine infuses the rest of the blood products back into the donor, using the same needle.

A nurse monitors the whole thing very carefully. If receiving saline makes you feel a little chilly – which can sometimes happen – the nurse will pull out a blanket to keep you warm. You may not want to leave.

After donating two units of red cells in this manner, I felt a little tired, but no more so than when I give blood the old-fashioned way.

Busy people may find this program efficient. While the process takes longer, donors go no more than once every four months, rather than every two months.

Patients who need a lot of blood benefit because they can receive red cells from fewer donors, thus reducing the likelihood of complications.

If donating double red cells isn’t for you, rest assured the Red Cross will be delighted to take your usual one unit of whole blood.

It’s a donation that doesn’t dent your wallet, it gets rid of 3,000 holiday calories, and it can cure the “needle spleenies” – the quaking that afflicts many human beings when they’re approached to receive a flu shot or give blood for testing.

Give blood, save a life, get bravery in return.

Feel very special.

The American Red Cross Blood Donor Center at 900 Hammond St., Bangor, is open from noon to 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday. For information, call 941-2900. The Double Red Cell Program is conducted in Bangor; Burlington, Vt.; Boston, Braintree, Mass., and Middleboro, Mass.