While red blood cell transfusions have decreased over the past several years, platelet transfusions have increased. In an editorial published in Transfusion, the American Red Cross (ARC) considers “the fundamental challenge to maintaining adequate platelet supply across the country is not a lack of donors, but rather their short shelf life, which is normally only 5 days.” This shelf life, combined with most hospitals requesting the freshest platelets available to decrease the risk of bacterial contamination, has led to ~7-9% of platelets becoming outdated and wasted according to the 2017 U.S. National Blood Collection and Utilization Survey. The challenges of maintaining a stable platelet inventory have made some question whether platelet donors should be paid to provide incentives for donating. The ARC recently queried over 8,000 platelet donors in a rural area (Oklahoma), a large city (Boston, MA) and a suburban area (Portland, OR) in addition to 104 hospital administrators to gain a better understanding of opinions about paid platelet donations. Based on survey results, altruistic motives and convenience were more important than financial incentives for donors, and hospital physicians and administrators were leery of using platelets from paid donors. The ARC urges further studies on ways to stabilize the platelet supply and increase donor recruitment and retention.
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