Ishpeming woman alive today thanks
to multiple plasma exchanges at MGH
January is Blood Donor Awareness Month
As Michelle Mulder approached the holiday season, she was thankful for
many things.
Being alive was at the very top of her list.
“I’m very religious, and truly believe He helped me through
it. I had a lot of people praying for me,” Mulder, 26, said. “For
that, I’m grateful.”
January is recognized nationally as Blood Donor Awareness Month. If not
for the “Gift of Life” given selflessly by blood donors, Mulder
is fully aware she may not have survived a potentially fatal disease.
In early February, while living in Sault Ste. Marie, Mulder was diagnosed
with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), a rare blood condition
in which small clots (thrombi) form within the blood vessels resulting
in the clumping of platelets and thus a low platelet count (thrombocytopenia)
in the blood stream as a whole.
TTP is extremely rare. The adult form affects one to three people per
million each year while the inherited form is even rarer. Anyone can develop
TTP, but it’s most common among 20-40 year olds. Women are also
twice as likely as men to acquire the condition.
Initially, the symptoms — fever, headache and sometimes diarrhea
— are subtle and can occur with many different conditions. However,
as it progresses, clots begin to form within blood vessels. The end result
is bruising, which began to happen to Mulder.
“I was sent to Marquette General to have blood work done,”
Mulder said. “Within a day, I had a large IV catheter inserted into
a vein in my groin. When I was diagnosed, it was quite a shock.”
The treatment for TTP is plasmapheresis (plasma exchange), in which a
machine is used to separate blood components. During the exchange, blood
is withdrawn from the patient, similar to a regular blood donation. Then,
the blood is passed through a cell separator where the plasma is separated
and collected. The remaining blood parts (white blood cells, red blood
cells and platelets) are combined with donated plasma and returned to
the patient.
With TTP, this treatment is repeated daily until blood tests show improvement.
Once diagnosed, Mulder underwent the plasma exchange every day for three
weeks as a patient at Marquette General. Then, the exchanges were reduced
to every other day for another couple of weeks, and eventually, she received
them on an outpatient basis while staying in the Hospitality Rooms at
Marquette General.
“I had my good days and my bad days,” said Mulder, who now
lives in Ishpeming with her husband and step-daughter, Lacey. “Finally,
in June, I had my last treatment. I had a couple of allergic reactions,
but I didn’t have any pain with them.”
Today, she undergoes blood work every three months to guard against a
recurrence.
Although the need for blood always exists, blood centers — including
the U.P. Regional Blood
Center, based at Marquette General — are in most urgent supply
after the holidays.
The Regional Blood Center experiences an ongoing need for all types of
blood and platelet donations. It currently is in need of A negative and
O negative blood.
“It’s during this time of year that the number of donations
decline while the demand continues or increases,” said Sallie Coron,
mobile blood drive coordinator at the Regional Blood Center. “We’re
always in need of blood. Many people don’t realize that some patients
like Michelle Mulder need repeated transfusions, while others may need
several units of blood during surgery or to survive a trauma.”
Mulder, Coron added, used approximately 20 bags of plasma during each
exchange.
Since undergoing successful treatment for TTP, Mulder has renewed appreciation
for blood donors.
“When I was going through this, I saw how much blood I needed,”
she said. “I got to thinking about how much it (blood) is worth.
This required a lot of blood … I have such a different feeling about
the donating process. I didn’t have a full understanding prior to
this.
“If people could realize how important blood donation is and the
lives they save, I think they would donate more. I wouldn’t be here
if people didn’t donate and take the time to care. You never know
when you will need it.”
The Regional Blood Center, located on College Avenue just east of Marquette
General in Marquette, is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday,
and from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday.
To be eligible to donate blood, a person must be in good health and generally
must be at least 17 years of age. Donors must weigh at least 110 pounds.
All donors receive a “mini physical” and health history questionnaire
prior to donation.
The U.P. Regional Blood Center conducts blood drives throughout the U.P.
on an ongoing basis to enable as many people as possible to donate blood.
In addition to the Marquette facility, full-time Blood Center donation
sites are located in Escanaba (phone 906-786-8420), Iron Mountain
(906-774-1012) and Hancock (906-483-1392).
To donate blood or to arrange for a blood drive, call 225-4610 or 1-800-591-4483.
For more information on the U.P. Regional Blood Center, visit its web
site at www.mgh.org/blood/blood.html.
