Woman who had transfusions encourages blood donations
22-year-old's low platelet count a serious condition that required 2 hospital stays
Erin Cibart said she felt fine but she knew something wasn't quite right when bruises and red dots had appeared on her skin, marks she hadn't noticed an hour before while celebrating a friend's birthday.
More of the bruises and dots — later identified as a result of low blood platelet count — would appear on Cibart's skin when she touched a part of her body, so she called her mother, a nurse, who recommended a trip to the emergency room.
“At first, they kept calling it a rash. It wasn't a rash because it wasn't raised, it wasn't itchy, it didn't hurt,” Cibart recalled of her April trip to the Pasqua Hospital. “It basically looked like popped blood vessels all over my body.”
Cibart, 22, had undergone various tests when she learned that her blood platelet count was low, hovering around 2,000 platelets per microlitre of blood; the normal range is about 150,000 to 450,000. Platelets are blood cells which help stop bleeding by clotting.
A hematologist explained that her condition, thrombocytopenia, meant that Cibart was at an elevated risk for internal bleeding and would need a transfusion.
Cibart stayed in hospital for days and was discharged once her blood platelet count rose to a safe level, but she found herself back in the ER a few days later. Blood work revealed her platelet count had dropped once more, meaning another transfusion was needed.
But this time, Cibart was informed the platelets she required — Rh-negative — were not available in Saskatchewan. Instead, she was given positive blood products and was given Winrho, a medication for low blood platelet count, to ensure her body wouldn't reject the platelets from that blood.
Cibart is at home recovering and is encouraging people to donate blood so that more people who need the help can get it.
Canadian Blood Services is seeing an increase in appointment cancellations across the country, according to Mike Choi, associate director of donor relations and collections.
Unlike whole blood, Choi said platelets have a shorter shelf life of about a week, creating a complex inventory management issue.
“As we work with hospitals, we need to ensure that they have an adequate supply for patients, but we also have to work with them so we're not providing an excess because we don't to run the risk of these products expiring,” Choi said.
In the event where certain blood products are unavailable, CBS could ship blood units within the country to ensure specific needs are met, he added.
If her platelet numbers go down, Cibart has to go back to the hospital. The cause of her condition has not yet been determined. Test results could take weeks or months to come in and even then the cause may never be known.
Choi said people who are interested in donating should contact Canadian Blood Services.