(a) Establishments must determine the eligibility of donors of platelets derived from Whole Blood and donors of platelets collected by plateletpheresis in accordance with §§ 630.10 and 630.15 of this chapter, except as provided in this section.

(b) A plateletpheresis donor must not serve as the source of platelets for transfusion if the donor has recently ingested a drug that adversely affects platelet function.

(c) A Whole Blood donor must not serve as the source of platelets for transfusion if the donor has recently ingested a drug that adversely affects platelet function unless the unit is labeled to identify the ingested drug that adversely affects platelet function.

(d) If you are collecting platelets by plateletpheresis, you must assess and monitor the donor's platelet count.

(1) You must take adequate and appropriate steps to assure that the donor's platelet count is at least 150,000 platelets per microliter (/µL) before plateletpheresis begins. Exception: If you do not have records of a donor's platelet count from prior donations and you are not able to assess the donor's platelet count either prior to or immediately following the initiation of the collection procedure, you may collect platelets by plateletpheresis, but you must not collect 9.0 × 10 11 or more platelets from that donor.

(2) You must defer from platelet donation a donor whose pre-donation platelet count is less than 150,000 platelets/µL until a subsequent pre-donation platelet count indicates that the donor's platelet count is at least 150,000 platelets/µL; and

(3) You must take appropriate steps to assure that the donor's intended post-donation platelet count will be no less than 100,000 platelets/µL.

(e) Frequency of plateletpheresis collection. (1) The donor may donate no more than a total of 24 plateletpheresis collections during a 12-month rolling period.

(2) When you collect fewer than 6 × 10 11 platelets, you must wait at least 2 calendar days before any subsequent plateletpheresis collection. You must not attempt to collect more than 2 collections within a 7 calendar day period.

(3) When you collect 6 × 10 11 or more platelets, you must wait at least 7 calendar days before any subsequent plateletpheresis collection.

(4) Exception. For a period not to exceed 30 calendar days, a donor may serve as a dedicated plateletpheresis donor for a single recipient, in accordance with § 610.40(c)(1) of this chapter, as often as is medically necessary, provided that the donor is in good health, as determined and documented by the responsible physician, and the donor's platelet count is at least 150,000 platelets/µL, measured at the conclusion of the previous donation or before initiating plateletpheresis for the current donation.

(f) Deferral of plateletpheresis donors due to red blood cell loss. (1) You must defer a donor from donating platelets by plateletpheresis or a co-collection of platelets and plasma by apheresis for 8 weeks if the donor has donated a unit of Whole Blood, or a single unit of Red Blood Cells by apheresis unless at least 2 calendar days have passed and the extracorporeal volume of the apheresis device is less than 100 milliliters.

(2) You must defer a donor from donating platelets for a period of 16 weeks if the donor donates two units of Red Blood Cells during a single apheresis procedure.

(3) You must defer a donor for 8 weeks or more if the cumulative red blood cell loss in any 8 week period could adversely affect donor health.

(g) The responsible physician must obtain the informed consent of a plateletpheresis donor on the first day of donation, and at subsequent intervals no longer than 1 year.

(1) The responsible physician must explain the risks and hazards of the procedure to the donor; and

(2) The explanation must be made in such a manner that the donor may give consent, and has a clear opportunity to refuse the procedure.