Hosptial Admission – Blood Donation

On Friday morning, Kaden had an appointment at the oncology clinic at 8:30 for a finger prick to test his blood count, platelets and neutrophils (immune system). While Kaden was at the clinic, he spiked a temp which is immediate admission for antibiotics and fluids. Normally for a fever it is a minimum 48hr stay from the last temperature spike unless something grows during this time, then its normally a week.

During Kaden’s stay at the hospital, he required a blood transfusion. Over the years I had seen the ads on TV, in newspapers and the blood bus parked at our local shopping centre and thought I must get around to doing that, little did i know just how just how important this blood would be. I knew blood transfusions were important for people in accidents, pregnancies, operations etc but never knew how important it is for a child / adult undergoing chemo. If it weren’t for the generous people attending the blood banks, Kaden and many others that require these important blood transfusions would go without. Kaden has received not only a standard blood transfusion, he has also received platelets which were separated from the blood when it was donated. After seeing all this, I booked in a few months ago and donated to help all those in need like Kaden. The overall process was reasonably quick, the only catch is that you can only donate every 3 months. If you haven’t yet considered giving blood, please do, each donation can help at least 3 patients. For more information on donating visit the “Australian Red Cross Blood Service”.