Pulse

UNIVERSITY OF UTAH HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER PULSE July 11, 1991 It's Easy to Be a UH Blood Products Donor When Rodney's brother received a bone marrow transplant at Univer-sity Hospital, he and the rest of his family learned the importance of the blood platelet donor program and became regular visitors to the Blood Donor Center on the A level. During his brother's treatment, Rodney's family became close with other bone marrow transplant patients, and especially close with Michelle, who received a transplant after Rodney's brother. In June, Rodney's brother died at UH from complications following the transplant. That evening, employees at the donor center noticed Rodney's name on the platelet donation list for the following day, but with the death of his brother, assumed Rodney wouldn't follow through with the appointment. But Rodney did come in to the center, ready to make a platelet donation. He told the staff at the center, " The donations are too important to stop giving, and I want to make sure Michelle will always have enough." The new bone marrow transplant unit at UH has introduced an in-creased need for specialized blood products. While regular whole blood donations always are welcome, the new need is for donations of blood UH Mini- Utah Open! August 17 University Golf Course 4- Person Scramble 2 men, 2 women ( one player must be UH employee) Entry Fee: $ 20 ( includes green fees, ball and lunch) Call A1 j Tokunaga for tee times, xl- 2180 Chris Chun, left, a medical technologist at the Blood Donor Center, monitors platelet donor Dave Morgan near the apheresis machine. platelets. The blood is made up of red cells ( which carry the oxygen to the bloodstream), white blood cells ( which help fight infection) and platelets ( which help blood clot). Following a bone marrow transplant or other treatments for diseases such as cancer or leukemia, the patient may be unable to produce normal blood cells for periods of weeks to months. Because the life of platelets is shorter than that of red blood cells, many of these patients have a much greater demand for platelet transfusions during this period. " A lot of people don't realize the critical need for platelets," said Elizabeth Read, M. D., associate director of the Blood Bank and Transfusion Services. " The new bone marrow transplant program is really pushing that, and with the new beds being added to the unit, the need will increase dramatically over the next several months." The UH Donor Center has approximately 200 regular platelet donors. With the increase in the number of beds and the number of transplants, Dr. Read said that figure must increase to about 1,500. This larger pool will also allow the center to select matched platelets for those patients who need them. The platelet donation process is very similar to that of whole blood donations. The main difference is the blood is passed through an apheresis machine which continuously sepa-rates the red blood cells from the platelets and returns the red and white blood cells to the body. Because a larger quantity of blood is made available for the extraction of platelets, the apheresis procedure results in a collection containing eight to 10 times the number of platelets than would be available from the usual blood donation. According to Dr. Read, there is no more pain involved than with a regular donation. " The two big differences are the amount of time it takes and how frequently a person can donate platelets," Dr. Read explained. " A whole blood donation takes about 20- 30 minutes, where a platelet donation takes about an hour- and- a- half. A person can also donate platelets 10 to 15 times a year, where a whole blood donor can only donate a maximum of six." If you are interested in becoming a platelet donor, contact the Blood Donor Center , x 1- 2794. UH Picnic August 9 at Liberty Park Bring the entire family to the annual U Hospital employee picnic, sched-uled August 9 at Liberty Park. The picnic will run from 11 a. m. to 10 p. m., with food served throughout the day. Employees are encouraged to invite immediate family members; single employees may bring a guest. ( All employees must present their Hospital identification badges, with the picture, upon arrival). Activities include water relay races, gunny sack races, ring and balloon toss, moon walk, water balloon volleyball, watermelon eating contests, bingo, volleyball, Softball, horseshoes, childrens' games, a dunking booth equipped with campus parking officials for targets, and much, much more! Entertainment will include clowns, a magician, puppeteers, doggers, jazz dancers, musical numbers and even a performing mule. The meal is provided by Red Flame Restaurant, so be sure to fill out the employee list distributed to each department, along with the number of guests, and join in the fun! The picnic committee still needs help with many jobs at the picnic. If you're interested in helping or have any talents you would be interested in performing, call Sandy Garlick, xl- 2012. Be* WN i \ Martha Morgan, left, and Vince Stack are this month's guest artists in the Hallside Gallery, AC113 Medical Students Feature Creative Work in Hallside Gallery Exhibit Two University medical students, are featuring their watercolors and pencil sketches in the Hallside Gallery, AC113. Martha Morgan and Vince Stack are third- year medical students who enjoy the arts away from their medical studies. Morgan, a fine arts major at Wilson College in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, taught art and biology to middle and senior high school students at the American International School in Thessaloniki, Greece, before moving to Utah and eventually entering medical school. Currently, her artistic skills have taken a back seat to her medical studies. However, she preserves her sanity by hiking during her rare moments of free time. " Keeping creative energies flowing is very important to me," Morgan said. " It has enabled me to think in broader perspectives in the arts and in my daily living. I hope thinking creatively as a physician will contribute to both a broader and deeper understanding of my patients, their issues and medical care." Stack, the second guest artist, is an avid outdoorsperson. He was unavail-able for comment. Printed on Recycled Paper Scavenger- Hunting Season Opens Soon Get your teams together for an employee scavenger hunt scheduled for the week of the UH picnic ( August 5- 9). The four- person teams- two men and two women- will begin competi-tion on Aug. 5 and search for new items each day. On Friday, the teams will report to the picnic at Liberty Park and receive final clues in the hunt. The winning team will receive the grand prize-$ 100 cash! Pre- registration deadline is Monday, July 29. For more informa-tion, call Xydell Hobbs, xl- 2324, or Doug Boudreaux, xl- 7387. Free Comedy Night for HSC Employees The Comedy Circuit, a new comedy establishment in Midvale, is offering free admission to all Univer-sity Health Sciences Center employ-ees for three limited shows. Free showings to employees and one guest will be offered July 9th, 10th and 11th. Doors open at 7: 30 p. m., and the show ( a $ 10.75 value) begins at 8: 30 p. m. Employees interested in attending must make reservations prior to each show, and mention they are employees of the UHSC. For reservations call 561- 7777. Gardens Run- Walk Get out your running shoes- it's time for the Wednesday Evening Family Run- Walk, July 10. The event will take place at Red Butte Gardens and includes a scenic 5K run, a 1.5 mile walk and free activities for children. The race begins at 6: 30 p. m., with registration from 5: 45 to 6: 15. Registration fee is $ 12 with a T- shirt, and $ 5 without. There will be drawings for garden concert tickets and athletic wear, free popsicles for the kids and ribbons for the first five finishers in each age group.