The platelet problem: platelets expire in 5 days and can’t be stockpiled. So when dengue season hits Assam every monsoon, demand doesn’t just rise, it arrives all at once, with zero buffer. Who needs them: dengue patients with critically low counts, cancer patients on chemotherapy, blood-disorder and transplant patients. A single adult dose can be a night-and-day difference. How platelets are collected:
- From whole blood, one donation yields one small dose (needs 4,6 donors for one patient dose)
- By apheresis, a machine keeps only platelets and returns the rest; one donor = one full dose, ~90 minutes, and you can donate apheresis more frequently In Assam: apheresis runs at the model blood banks (AMCH Dibrugarh, GMCH) and SMCH, call ahead to register as a platelet donor. During monsoon, if you’re healthy and A+/B+/O+/AB+, a platelet registration is one of the highest-value five-minute actions you can take. Register →