...Mr. Fort gives blood platelets as an apheresis donor, a little-known but vital link...for about 10 minutes. By comparison, apheresis donation is a tougher, more time-consuming...said Sue Ellen Malone, manager of apheresis recruitment for the Greater Chesapeake...

...more blood banks have begun using automated systems that let donors give just platelets or just red cells, a process called apheresis. With more platelet-only donors, blood banks haven't needed to cull platelets from as many whole-blood donations...