Donating blood is a great way to help others, and it’s easy to do if you’re relatively
healthy.
Of course, some people aren’t able to donate blood due to medical conditions or because
they’re taking prescription medications.
But even a basic, over-the-counter medicine can stop you from donating parts of your blood
-- like, you can’t donate platelets if you’ve recently taken aspirin.
Because even though you might’ve just taken it for a headache, aspirin also affects the
rest of your body, including your platelets.
When you get a cut, it’s your platelets -- also called thrombocytes -- that are mostly
responsible for stopping any active bleeding.
Along with other proteins, they clump and bind together, making a scab for your open
wound.
When someone has a low platelet count, that puts them at risk of severe bleeding, even
for a less serious injury.
That’s where donations come in.
Unfortunately, you’ll probably be turned away from donating if you’ve taken aspirin
too recently, because it stops your platelets from working normally.
Aspirin is a complicated molecule made of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen.
It’s used to relieve pain, and for patients at risk for recurring strokes or heart attacks.
People have been using it 1890s, but it wasn’t until the 1970s that scientists actually understood
how it works.
The drug blocks an enzyme called COX-1.
That reduces the production of prostaglandins, hormone-like compounds that normally cause
inflammation and pain.
Blocking those compounds is what helps your headache.
But the aspirin also inhibits the protein thromboxane.
Thromboxane helps create blood clots and scabs by constricting your blood vessels and recruiting
platelets to clump together.
So, if you take aspirin, which stops thromboxane, that prevents blockages from forming in your
blood vessels and keeps your blood flowing free.
That’s why it’s so helpful in preventing heart attacks, which are caused by blood clots,
and so harmful for hospital patients.
Donor platelets are often used for cancer patients or for complications in surgery,
so hospitals need to be completely sure that they’ll actually work and will prevent excessive
bleeding.
And if your platelets aren’t clumping together like normal, you can see why donating them
to someone in need might be a problem.
If you’re interested in donating platelets, most donor banks suggest waiting about 48
hours after taking aspirin to let the drug’s effects wear off so that your platelets can
gain back their regular, clotting selves.
But if you’re scheduled to donate whole blood—everything, not just the platelets—and
you have a headache, no worries!
Whole blood transfusions are often used in more general cases where the clotting property
of blood isn’t necessarily the main thing they need.
So if your platelets don’t work normally, it’s not as much of a problem.
For such a simple and easily available medicine, aspirin does a lot more to your body than
you might think.
But as long as you plan ahead, you can still go forth, donate, and help those in need.
I HAVE AN EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT!
Okay, here's the situation.
The SciShow team and I were talking about a problem that many of us share.
People will ask us what we want for Christmas, and we won’t know what to say because, like,
stuff and things seem so... last century, right?.
But then I was thinking, y'know, there are some things that I would like to get, or some
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I love the world or I love the universe or the existence of life...that kind of thing.
Stuff that is emblematic of my appreciation, or it inspires me, or it lets me learn things,
or do experiments on myself.
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These SciShow Finds are curated by me, for the most part, they’re things that I know
that I would love to get in my stocking.
It's a very small list, just a few things with varying price points.
We're probably going to add some new finds...as we find them...throughout the next year, and
those new ones will replace the old ones, so all of these products will be around only
around for a limited time on SciShowFinds.com.
You probably have friends or family who would really appreciate some Mars Socks, or trilobite
fossils, or this Space Shuttle lapel pin.
And, if not, you might want to get them for yourself or just throw that link off to somebody
who says “hey what do you want for Christmas?”
and be like hey, I gotta thing right here, makes it easy for everybody.
And also know that when you buy from SciShowFinds.com, you are supporting SciShow, as you are doing
just by watching this video So, thank you very much for doing that.
All the way to the end, too, look at you.
Thank you.