Platelet Donations Wanted

These last few days have been very difficult and challenging for Nonnie. She continues to have fevers every day, which significantly affect her counts. Papa told me that she goes through the "fire drill" every third fever. The abdominal pain she was having is gone, but the doctors are still trying to find the source of the GI bleeding. They cannot do an endoscopy because of her platelet counts. In the meantime, they are giving her a medication that is designed to assist in the clot formation.

Nonnie has received upwards of 14 units of platelets and the same number of blood transfusions. Typically, she does not get that many combined over the 3 week process! What the means, is that she is "refracting" the platelets and blood transfusions. In simple terms, her body is rejecting the donated transfusions. The doctors went back to check the prior donor compatibility, and the platelets I donated in January were effective.

I am going in on Monday morning to give more platelets for Nonnie. If anyone is healthy and willing, they could always use more donors. It is a very easy process that only takes about 2 hours. If you would like to donate, please call the UCLA Blood and Platelet Center at (310) 825-0888. Ask for Brian and he can get you scheduled to do a "direct donation" for Nonnie.