No special rest required
Peripheral blood stem cell donation is a type of blood donation, which is a mechanically collected component of blood. Donation of a therapeutic amount of hematopoietic stem cell suspension is only 50-300 mL, and the total amount of human blood is about 8% of body weight. In other words:
- The total amount of blood in a 50-kg person is 4000 mL. The amount of blood lost at one time does not exceed 15% of the total amount of blood in the body and does not affect normal physiological function, let alone life and health.
- A person weighing ≥50 kg donates a therapeutic amount (about 200 mL) of concentrated peripheral blood stem cell suspension, which represents only 1/80 to 1/20 of the total amount of bone marrow in the body, without affecting normal physiological function and without special rest.
Be appropriately active
To donate peripheral blood stem cells, donors need to lie on their backs in the collection chair/bed next to the blood collection machine for 3 to 5 hours, and they should not move their arms freely on both sides, and make slow and rhythmic forceful fist-clenching and fist-releasing movements when the fingers on the side where blood is drawn do not have enough pressure in the blood vessels.
After collection, some donors experience discomfort and fatigue such as back pain and numbness in the extremities. Therefore, after donating peripheral blood stem cells and resting a little in bed, you should sit up slowly and then get out of bed to do light activities, stretch your back, stretch your legs, and take a walk. Just make sure you don’t do heavy labor or strenuous exercise for two days after donation, and don’t stretch your arm hard on the day of the puncture side, and don’t lift heavy objects hard.