Newark man sets record with 500th blood platelet donation

A Newark man set a record at the Blood Bank of Delmarva last week when he made his 500th donation of blood platelets.

Eric Mayer hit the milestone June 28.

“His monumental donation comes during the critical, summertime need for blood donations, and we can’t thank him enough for his dedication to saving lives and ensuring that patients have access to safe and readily-available blood products,” said Kristin Frederick, director of laboratories for the Blood Bank.

Mayer has been a regular at the Blood Bank for years.

“You guys need my platelets, so you take them every two weeks,” Mayer told Blood Bank officials. “When I first started donating platelets, my mother said to me, ‘That’s very nice, son.’ And that stuck with me. Also, I was lucky; I was self-employed so I had time.”

Twice, while he was wearing a platelet donation T-shirt, someone who received donated platelets stopped him to thank him for being a donor, he recalled.

“I thought that was pretty neat,” Mayer said. “That’s all the thanks I need, plus my mother’s appreciation.”

Platelets are fragile, short-lived blood cells that are essential for normal blood clotting. They must be transfused within a week of donation, which means they are always needed to ensure availability for hospitals every day. Platelets are often used to treat cancer patients, accident victims, patients with blood disorders and bone marrow transplant recipients.

Unlike a traditional blood donation, which can be done rather quickly, a platelet donation takes approximately two and a half hours.

The process, called apheresis, uses a cell separator that spins the donor’s blood to separate the platelets from the other blood components. The platelets are collected in bags, and the remainder of the blood is returned to the donor.

While Mayer holds the record, he isn’t the Blood Bank’s only frequent platelet donor. He has often traded places with Robert Moley, who was the first donor to reach 400 donations at the Blood Bank, for top platelet donor. Moley currently has 496 donations.

For more information about donating blood, call 1.888.8.BLOOD.8 or visit delmarvablood.org.