Apheresis
4:48
Added: 2 years ago
From: pennsays
Views: 7,755
Sort by time | Sort by thread (beta)

Link to this comment:

Share to:
see all

All Comments (149)

Sign In or Sign Up now to post a comment!
  • Penn, I really need to know, do they give regular people cranberry juice or apple juice? Because if it's apple, no deal. I'm keeping my blood.

  • I think its amazing that people CAN actually give blood in Vegas around the holidays. I thought that scenario required drinking at all times.

  • Hi Penn fans. Penn Says videos have been discontinued, so you won't be seeing any new content on here. You can check out our Profile on our Channel Page for more info. We'll still be checking in, so hope to keep chatting with you all! Thanks!

  • that is great that you give blood/platelets so much. i myself do is all the time for hoxworth blood center in Cincinnati. i am only 21 years old and according to them i have given over 5 gallons of blood/platelets. and the people there do give me apple juice and even one better, they sometimes bring me popcorn

  • I use to donate platelets when I worked close to the donation building but the staff would call asking if I could donate at a certain date and just would not take no for an answer. I would say sorry I have to work that at that time and they would say well why dont you check and call us back if you can not. I do not have to check, I have to work. Well you just check and let us know. I am letting you know. I no longer work in that area.

  • Um...that's kind of creepy. Why would they be asking you to donate at a certain date and time, and try to force you? I know that sometimes when areas get depleted of their supply and/or have some kind of major emergency where there's a huge need for blood transfusions, they call up regular platelet donors who have said it's okay to contact them for such reasons...but that sounds kind of over the line, irritating and just downright creepy to me.

  • if you want to know where to donate, just google the red cross for your area. they do great work, and their tech are awesome! never had a problem! enjoy!

  • My sister donates blood, she's really passionate about it. I've always wanted to, but I have never weighed enough.

  • I tried to donate once. The technician managed to go *thru* the vein. It got kinda painful and they didn't get enough blood to save. I really should try again, as I know that was a fluke. But around here, I don't even know where I'd go to do it. :P

  • I'm O- so for me the best thing I can do is double red blood cells. A similar thing, sitting in a chair (only about 45 mins in my case) chilling out sipping a tasty beverage...

  • Penn Jillette doesn't hide anything, he has herpes.

  • Apheresis is a much better donation option than whole blood for those of us with rare blood types (AB negative... wtf? thanks, genetics). My fiancee has ITP and has received IVIG therapy a couple of times, when his counts were really dire. It feels good, when I'm able to donate, knowing first hand what a positive impact platelet and plasma donation have. And with platelet-only donation, you can contribute more than 20 times a year. That's a whole lot of good.

  • Hey Penn I used to work for UBS in Las Vegas and you did a lot for that company so from the bottom of my heart I say Thank You.

  • I would love to donate blood, but I have a really bad phobia of shots! : /

  • Yay for blood donors!! I am also a platelet donor. Penn and I have so much in common. I really think I should get invited backstage.

    But seriously, anyone who is not scared of needles should try to donate. And if you are scared, it's worth the effort to try to overcome your fear. What better way to cure a phobia than by giving blood to someone in dire need.

  • fuck that, i want orange

  • This makes me thirsty for cranberry juice. I'll probably do that sometime though.

  • I pierce my own body purely for the amusement of others. I guess there has to be someone at both ends of the spectrum eh?

  • I'm one of those people I'm just way to scared of needles. I went in for surgery once and they had to numb me to give me an IV and I still started crying like a little bitch.

  • I also hate needles. I would get light headed and see stars and all that right after the needle went in. It was worse during blood tests. Watching the blood flow out I wanted to pass out. Being a Marine I get stuck all the time. I got over it though, by donating blood. Did that a few times. I still get anxious, but the urge to pass out and puke has passed. Doing someone good and tackling a fear. Just a suggestion. It doesn't last as long as apheresis.

  • man when I go donate plama I just get to watch a fuzzy CRT tv playing dumb movies in a cold room with 20 other people, don't get any kinda juice. they take the plasma pull the needle out and say here is ur money and I leave. I'm kinda suprised they don't throw people out the door. the people taking the plasma here are ass holes.

  • Sorry, too gay to donate blood.

  • @Eban11235 People have thumbed this person down, and I don't know if he's serious or not, but you should all know that being "too gay" (in a figurative sense) can indeed disqualify you from donating. Meaning if you're honest about your sex life, and tell them you've had anal sex with another man, whether he's HIV negative or not, and whether it was with a condom or not, you can still be told you don't qualify to donate.

  • That doesn't really make any sense.

  • My comment didn't make sense or the policy? If it's the latter, I completely agree. It's discriminatory and based on homophobic myths. Even for people WITH diseases, why can't they still donate to others with the same disease? For instance, HIV positive people can donate to others with HIV - it can be kept separate in the same way that "baby blood" (CMV negative) is - especially those who have very rare blood types that are only compatible with a limited # of types, like AB- and B-.

  • @tehlinebeginstoblur I tried to find info about HIV + people donating to other HIV + people. Didn't find anything, but did find an interesting FAQ on the FDA site. Type in "hiv blood donation fda" to Google, it's the first one.

  • Ah, I found something in an Advocate article: "Epstein particularly warns of the threat that screened, HIV-positive units could accidentally enter the blood supply through human error." Which is also true for baby blood, human error could happen. I guess it's a matter of how much risk we as a country are willing to take.

  • The policy.

  • Hey, someone got the joke. Sort of. Sad you had to explain it though.

  • this is a very nice message penn -- but as an atkins person -- bring your won pork rinds.

  • The USA won't accept my blood because of the BSE scare in the UK. I lived there and so I'm disqualified from donating.

  • My dad and brother do this, my brother has an extraordinarily high platelet count so he gets called all the time by the vampires. Not sure if he still can because he's a nurse and has had a couple of accidental needle sticks.

    I have donated blood a couple of times, but my blood pressure is really low and it's a pain for both me and the nurse to get anything out, so I feel it's not really worth it anymore if they can't even get a full liter.

  • I wish I didn't have a pathological fear of needles.

  • Yeah, I did that once. I got to Watch "Airheads" on a mini DVD player. I love that movie..

  • i know i can't donate blood because i fail the pre-screening question where they ask if you've lived in europe for more than 3 months since 1980 (apparently it means you have mad cow).

    i wonder if i can donate platelets? hm...

  • They bring me chilled chocolate milk to counteract the anti-coagulant. Good stuff! You can also do whole blood every 56 days and do Apheresis in between still.

  • Thanks for a great post, Penn! I just had a blood transfusion the day before yesterday, after a bad bleed from my esophagus.

    Sorry there are several posts from readers knocking you for doing this, and making peurile comments in the process, because donated blood just saved my life 48 hours ago.

    Keep donating, and don't listen to the idiots who imagine they know what they're talking about; they don't. They just like to spout off.

  • Jackalofdeath, how about actually doing some research before you speak stupidities?

    A.) The amount of marrow donated is less thatn 5% of that the adult that gives it. There is zero detriment to the immune system of the donor. General side effects are lower back pain and discomfort while walking and fade between 3-21 days.

  • B) People receiving are charge for the proceedure, NOT for the marrow itself.

    C) You regenerate all of your donated marrow in 4-6 weeks and save a life. It's called being a good person instead of a self-centered asshole. And, it's a very conscious decision to donate marrow because it requires 40-50 hours of time, testing, and paper work to donate. By the time you donate, you're VERY well informed and far from being a "dumb lost child."

  • It's not about being "hip and cool." It's about altruism and charity. Even better, it's a way to be charitible if you don't have money to donate to whatever various charities. Plus, at least to me, it's quite satisfying to know that my blood has saved somewhere between 5 and 15 lives.

    So fuck off you ignorant prick. Penn is right on here.

  • CMV is the cytomegalovirus and healthy adult immune systems keep it in check. CMV negative blood is scarce, but required for not only babies but all suppressed or compromised immune systems. If you are CMV negative, please donate regularly and save the lives of AIDS patients, transplant recipients, and babies.

  • you don't save the lives of AIDS patients because they all fucking die from it, there is no cure.

  • Everybody dies. There is no cure for aging. But blood donations can save the life of someone today, even if they die next month or year.

  • I didn't have enough room to say this below. I believe it IS a very Cool thing to do wether you do it for the money or for unselfish reasons. Either way your plasma helps to save lives. Burn victims need it badly. And my two daughters would not be alive today if not for the people who donated plasma. I recieved a shot (Rogam) derived from someone's plasma that prevented my body from making antibodies that would have attacked and killed any O+ baby in me. I'm O-. Thank You for donating !!!

  • I used to do it all the time. As a necessity. It pays around $150.00 bucks a month. I don't make much at my Tips Only job & donating plasma was my only way to keep gas in my car so I could take my children places to have fun. Around here, people donate because they're broke. We made the best out of it, though. We'd sit outside forever waiting for them to open, talking & laughing. I'd even bring my portable DVD player. I had to stop cause it wore me down to be around the negative people there.:(

  • Nice information Penn! I'm going to set up an appt this week :)

  • does anybody think religion is based so people dont go crazy killing robbing etc

    it makes sense as the rest of the world kills and does everything possible to stay alive

  • just thinking about donating blood makes my veins hurt :( sorry could never do it.

  • I used to do that when I was younger.... they treat you great. The seats are so darn comfortable you just want to go to sleep, but they won't let you. I understand the state of California allows these private companies who collect Platelets to pay the donors. So not only are you doing good deeds times two you also get to collect a small check. Get a check up first if you plan to donate.

  • Hey Penn('s reader), my wife used to give all the time in a similar manner. However the place she would go do (and got tickets for your show one year), United Blood Services, was horrible in the badgering they would do. They were worse than creditors. Every 3-4 days they would be calling to set up an appointment. Do you go to that organization and, if so, get that level of badgering?

  • U BIG BLOOD HUSTLIN GOOBER!

    The Iron Chelator L1 Potentiates Oxidative DNA Damage in Iron-Loaded Liver Cells

    (*...*)

  • Do you give out blood with the Red Cross - because they discriminate against gay men. :(

  • I only get water, and its only at room temp.

    ;(

  • Apheresis is a fantastic gift, I go to the children's hospital to do so. You kick back in a cozy chair and watch a movie. Saves lives, Good thing.

  • Damn Penn 54 and look damn good. Keep it up.

  • Is that a sign of a progressing civilization or what? Blood sacrifices are out and blood donations are in.

  • Don't be so quick to praise--there is more slavery and hunger in the world today than there has every been. The only difference between then and now is that it's all kept under the radar.

  • Really? How can you be so sure? I think there is less slavery and hunger in the world today and people are more likely to know about it that they ever have been, because we live in an era of satellite TV and internet. They have a greater share of mind, that is all.

  • "there is more slavery and hunger in the world today than there has every been."

    I just died a little inside, please tell me you don't ACTUALLY mean that?

  • I'm sure because it's fact, and I can message both of you proof if you wish to see it. I must warn you though, that it is extremely depressing--but my perspective is that knowing this will allow us to change it. The only question that will remain is how...

  • I'm sorry, when over 10 million Africans were enslaved and taken to plantations across the Americas, when you had to live in fear every day that your inadequate medicine and poor living conditions may result in cholera or death, was worse than the leisure and luxury we live in today? Are you joking? Go ahead and send me the Africa statistics, or the Iraq war death tolls statistics.

  • With that comment you just proved how little you know about the state of the world we currently live in. I am by no means belittling the slavery of the past by saying today is worse, just stating the truth, because this is the way it is and people need to know. I will not send you statistics but merely suggest you look up the terms "sex slavery" and "east africa famine" to get an idea of what I'm talking about. Message me if you want to know more about the full extent of what is going on.

  • You're so ignorant, I'm not going to even bother arguing with you.

    The quality of live has reacher astronomical levels after the Napoleonic wars.

  • You forgot the asterisk. That's only true for developed countries, and even our quality of life is declining.

    Now if you do not actually want to know about the outside world, what it is really like and not just what you are allowed to see, than I am done talking with you as well.

    True ignorance is not knowing that you know nothing...

  • I don't know where you get your information. Everything I've read on the subject says there is much less slavery and hunger than ever before.

  • Like I said, the difference between the past and present is how this information is kept under the radar. If you are getting yours from the major news networks or publications you won't hear a thing about this injustice.

  • You still haven't told us where your information comes from.

    You mention 'sex slavery' and East African famine.. I can deny that famine in East Africa (and some other places, too) is pretty horrible, but remember that in the past famine used to occur worldwide (not everywhere at once, of course). Most countries nowadays haven't had famine in decades, or longer.

  • Well, I typically avoid television unless I want to see how the mainstream is spinning the truth, so I get most of my news from the internet. The top websites I trust and tend to get most of my information from are digg (which is like a compilation of the most interesting stories from all over the web), democracynow, cspanjunkie, therawstory, youtube, and whatever I can find on google if I'm researching a particular subject.

  • Don't forget Reddit. It's more balanced and intellectual than Digg.

  • hey dude, check out politico, i love it because there is no bias, they just say what is happening

  • As for the 'sex slavery'... although it too can be very bad, it is almost impossible to find any worthwhile figures. Estimates vary by huge amounts, which indicates that none of the figures are trustworthy.

    Keep in mind that some advocacy groups define ALL prostitution, pornography, strippers and such as 'sex slavery', thus rendering the term ridiculous.

  • Just give me permission to send you a message and I will show you the extent of my research on the subject.

  • You can tell me as long as you just list some sources and don't flood me with a ton of information.

  • Alright. Give me until tomorrow and it should be in your inbox. I'll try to keep it limited to the most essential information.

  • I gave plasma twice a week for almost a year and half while in college. Good Money back in '94 I got about $15 bucks a visit.

  • Ah, it's nice to see other people enthusiastic about donating blood.

  • My whole family is O positive, so it's really good when we give blood. My older sister went into shock from being just over the weight limit for her height and I collasped. Luckily, we both live in Vegas, so maybe we can take the chance to get over our bad experiances, give to a good cause, and get tickets to see Penn & Teller all this once. :) can't wait for the bloody days of Christmas.

  • I actually donated with the Alyx machine at blood assurance here in TN yesterday. Power on.

  • Oh, and since they pump in saline solution to make up for the double red cell removal, you can actually taste it. An interesting sensation.

    And on one machine that I donated with, I could feel the needle vibrating as they separated the red blood cells from all the other stuff. Definitely felt weird as heck haha

  • Good for you Penn, more people should step up and give a bit of themselves to help others (literally), then simply sit around on their ass and pray. :)

    Keep up the the good work!

  • Don't be so hard on yourself, Penn. You may be 54, but your magic is still some of the coolest shit ever.

  • ....but....Atheists don't believe in an afterlife, so they're all immoral and they don't care about anyone but themselves and they're all hedonists and that's why the deny God, so why would they want to do something nice like donate blood?

    Penn must not be a real Atheist, I guess!

  • Because abortion clinics are hard to come by. Adult blood is the closest we can get.

  • For the record, my comment was sarcastic. There are some people who really think that Atheists are all immoral because they don't believe in an afterlife and there's no "moral absolutes" etc... but anyone who says that is basically saying "the only reason I do good is so I can have my eternal happiness after death" which makes you a douchebag.

    I was just making fun of such people. Sorry if anyone took me seriously.

  • Actually, it is aphEresis. I speak Greek and that's how it's pronounced. The word means subtraction.

  • Yes, in greek that is how it is pronounced, but because English is not a phonetic language, we changed the pronounciation to the way Penn described.

    For example:

    finite

    infinite

    same root word, different pronounciation.

  • Ha, well obviously we didn't change it to the way penn described, because the dictionary tells us it's pronounced the true way. Penn's pronunciation is listed as a secondary pronunciation.

    And, whether a language is phoenetic or not doesn't have to do with how things are pronounced when prefixes are added... it just has to do with whether the language is always sounded as it's spelled. Which is true for Greek. But:

    stásis

    metástasis

    Same root word, different pronunciation.

  • this topic always makes me feel kind of bad considering i cant donate blood because i have hemophilia. i would love to help but things medically i cannot because its a hereditary disease carried by the blood. meaning i cant donate blood or sperm or organs probably idk maybe haven't looked into the organ thing but yea =\ makes me feel bad

  • Dude, I feel your pain. Well, not literally. But I can't donate because I was born in western europe durign the 80's and there was some kind of disease that was being transfered in bad food given to us military personal. because of that, no one in my immediate family can donate, even thoguh none of us have the disease active in us.

  • Penn & Teller's Bloody Days of Christmas? AWESOME. Now if I only lived in Vegas, I might be able to score some free tickets.

  • didn't know the term for it but i usualy do apheresis. double units of O-, they love me there

  • Anyone see the douchebag president of the catholic league railing against Penn & Teller on fox?

  • oh just come out already... people that are always so vehemently against associating with gays are usually gay themselves. Not being yourself makes you more of a sissy than all the gay men in the world combined. Come out, come out, wherever you are.

  • You're fucking stupid

  • How do you feel about your father then? We had a date last night and he's wild in the sack.

  • do they pay you? i'd donate blood but i'm gay, and i'm not going to lie, fuck them.

  • That's why I don't bother with any of these types of donations either.

    All blood donations get screened for any possible blood borne illnesses. So any infected blood, whether it's from a gay or straight person, will be detected and disposed of.

    This policy is just another thinly veiled form of legal discrimination against gays.

  • I'm too small for apheresis... 5' 5"...120pds... damnit... ...

    I give whenever I can though...but I wish they stop give shirts and other free stuff

  • LOL....The thing that annoys me is the Red Cross calling EVERY 6 weeks like clockwork.....I tell them the vampires need to wait.

  • My husband is cmv negative - and also the most common blood type [A+], so his blood goes to a lot of babies and kids - so he donates a lot. They call him all the time for blood and platelets, and he usually makes the time to go in. He actually enjoys it too. My blood is the most rare, apparently, [B-], but I don't know if it's cmv pos or neg. I've only donated twice in my life - so I should probably go more. Thanks for the pep talk Penn.

  • While it's good that you two donate, please check your facts before misinforming others. A+ is the SECOND most common(34%). O+ is the most common(38%). B- is the SECOND most rare. AB- is the rarest(.6%). And BTW, AB+ is called "Universal Recipient" because they can take ANY blood type. O- is called "Universal Donor" because ANYONE can take their blood. I am O+(the MOST common) AND I have "rare" blood antigens, so those vampires are always calling me for my blood. ;-p

  • Yeah I am O- and ill never donate, its a health risk

    also, i don't believe O- is universal donor, as i've been told time and time again that O+ is the universal, because the negative refers to the inability to bond with other blood types, like donated blood.

  • Well, believe it or not, it's true. ;-) O- is the universal donor. Which is a shame, since only 7% of people have that blood type. I would be better if it was O+ instead.

  • That's right! I've been out of school too long - thanks for the timely correction.

  • I always give blood.

    Penn, you convinced me to do apheresis.

    I was never against, just unaware of it.

  • I wish I could do apheresis. The cancer I had keeps that from happening.

  • donating blood or platelets (apheresis) is a very good and noble thing...one of the best ways to help your fellow man/woman...

    most hospitals provide free snacks including drinks and even lunch...

    for those going the first time, just remember you can't have traveled outside the USA or had a tattoo within the past 6 months...

    peace

  • Hey Pen, do you ever get the smart ass orderly who's like "Hey, magic guy, watch me make this needle dissapear!" as he jabs the needle in?

    Heh.

  • Hi Penn (& Teller, if you see these as well),

    I doubt you'll read this, but I'm going to ask anyway just in case.

    I'm really curious, what do you think about the whole Chris Brown thing? First about him beating his former gf Rihanna. Second, about his many public attempts at an "apology"?

    Thanks!

  • You're always full of surprises. Do you think Ayn Rand or her toe-sucking acolyte David Greenspan would ever give blood? Not too 'bloody' likely. But you do. At heart you're a better human than any other Libertarian I've EVER met.

  • I would love too, but gays are not allowed to give blood. :(

  • what? why?

  • Gays aren't allowed to give blood?

  • Nope. The Red Cross/FDA ban on accepting blood donations from men who have had a sexual encounter with another man any time since 1977 is still active.

  • Nope, gay men are more likely to contract HIV, so they aren't allowed to donate blood.

  • Really, JohnnyWeedSeed420? You'd rather die than accept someone's lifesaving help because of who they sleep with at night? That's a very special ideology.

  • If he doesn't want the blood then just let him die, and maybe someone more worthy can have it to save their lives.

    The special treatment for the Apheresis that was said in this video is pretty much the normal treatment you get for donating normally at the bloodcenter I go to once in a while.

  • I may just try it.

  • I would, but I have Vasal Vagal Trypanaphobia. I can actually kill myself with the Thought of a needle.

    Okay, that's Hyperbole, but still, it's serious enough to skew blood results.

  • Chinese govt did this in the 90s in mobile units creating a huge HIV outbreak in the western part of the country. They try to keep it quiet but its been suggested that its a larger number than the African outbreak. Gifford writes about it in China Road.

  • "I'm very charitable. Remember that time I gave blood?"

    "Who's Blood?"

    "Some guy's..."

  • The last time I gave blood, I forgot to eat before going in, and started getting the shakes which the needle guy handled very well he wrapped towels around me and made sure I was OK and it wasn't so much scary as ..well OK it was very scary and I felt like an idiot but in hindsight it was kinda like a cross between euphoria & wanting to throw up so I'm surprised more people don't do that. It should be an Xtreme Sport. I don't give blood anymore.

  • mmmmmmmm apple juice

  • Penn has herpes...heheh

  • i donate plasma almost every week (twice a week), but i get paid to do it so i don't know why they still call it donation.

  • ...maybe you just get apple...

    LOL

  • I did it to get extra cash for college twice a week. Now I have two serious trackmark dimples in my arms and they pinch and itch every now and again.

    I'm not trying to talk anyone out of it. I'm certainly not railing against donating whole blood either. Blood donors truly are heroes.

    My blood was used for malaria and aids research which is awesome and I'd probably do it over again if I could. Just not nearly as often.

  • can't give blood cuz i have tattoos

  • me neither... i have aids....

  • Yes you can. You just have to wait 1 year after your last tattoo or piercing. I have donated whole blood tons of times, and one of the questions is "any tattoos or piercings in the last year".

  • it's awesome you can still do it though.

  • I used to do that and got paid $50 a week it is great for college students.I'm still in college but because I came out of the closet as trans they won't let me any more.

    I haven't had sex for years, I rarely drink, don't smoke, and haven't been sick for over 15 years but my life style is too risky.

  • I used to do this four times a month, and it's a unique feeling to be sure.

  • yeah I'd give blood but they won't let me, the bastards. Screw them.

  • When I get MRIs they inject me with something called Contrast Fluid, which highlights the areas they are examining....anyway it feels like icewater slowly running though your body. You can actually feel this ice cold tingle inside of you slowly being moved around within you. Trippy and surreal feeling, but cool (literally)

  • wonder what it takes to get rasberry/grape

  • rofl at army ad on penn says XD

  • Awesome Penn : )

  • What you don't love getting your dick tugged all afternoon I know I do lol JK

    Great vid like always i think ill go out and do this.

  • i want a pint of Penn in me !

  • great video.

  • Na it really is cold iv done it 4-5 times and every time it was cold and 1st time or two no one told me it was cold

  • sweet

  • Awesome video.

Loading...
0 / 00Unsaved Playlist Return to active list
    1. Your queue is empty. Add videos to your queue using this button:
      or sign in to load a different list.
    Loading...Loading...Saving...
    • Clear all videos from this list
    • Learn more