Follow the Blood: What happens after you donate?

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Giving blood can seem like a mundane task, but the process is anything but ordinary.

In an exclusive story, our team followed a donation of platelets, from the donor's arm to its grateful recipient, learning everything that happens in between.

It all started at a blood donor center in Columbia, where a man named Dylan Frost donated platelets and plasma for the first time.

Once he's hooked up and blood starts flowing, it all starts with a special machine.

"This is the centrifuge," explained an employee. "This is what's spinning and separating those platelets, red cells, and plasma."

The centrifuge essentially filters the platelets, which are small, colorless cells that help the blood clot, out, while pumping the rest of his blood back into his body. After abou