Donating blood is good for your health.

[randome]

I've been donating blood regularly for about 2 years. Today was the first time they asked me if I wanted to donate platelets so I signed up for that, too. (Apparently I have 'good veins', the bloodsuckers!)

They need to set up an appointment for that so I don't know firsthand how the process works. Platelet donation takes a little longer than a blood donation, about 90 minutes.

So I thought I'd post some info and emphasize that donating blood and platelets not only saves lives or makes lives easier but is good for your own health.

http://www.tibetcharity.in/content/health-benefits-donating-blood

IMPROVES HEART HEALTH
Donating blood improves your overall cardiovascular health. Increased level of iron in the blood raises the chance of heart disease. Regularly donating blood helps males in particular to reduce the amount of iron in the blood. This can reduce the chance of heart attack by 88%. Additionally, regular blood donation can lower the risk of severe cardiovascular events such as stroke by 33%.

ENHANCES THE PRODUCTION OF NEW BLOOD CELLS
When blood is withdrawn, the donor's body immediately begins to replenish the lost blood. New cells are produced by marrow within 48 hours of donation, and all of the red blood cells the donor loses during donation are completely replaced within one to two months. Therefore, donating blood helps to stimulate the production of new blood cells. This process of replenishment can help your body stay healthy and work more efficiently.

Platelet Donations
http://www.redcrossblood.org/donating-blood/types-donations/platelet-donation

What is a Platelet Donation?

During a platelet donation, a small portion of your blood (about 1/4 pint at a time), is drawn from your arm and passed through a sophisticated cell-separating machine. The machine collects the platelets and safely returns the remaining blood components, along with some saline, back to you. After the donation you can resume your normal activities, avoiding heavy lifting or strenuous exercise that day.

Should you be a Platelet Donor?

A single platelet donation can provide enough platelets for a full therapeutic dose for a patient in need. In fact, some platelet donations yield enough platelets for two or three therapeutic doses. By contrast, it takes four to six whole blood donations to produce a single therapeutic dose.

Many patients who need platelets are undergoing chemotherapy or organ transplant and have weakened immune systems. A platelet dose from a single donor reduces the patient’s exposure to multiple donors and is therefore preferred by many physicians.

A more science-y source of info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plateletpheresis

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[GReedDiamond]

1. Back in the 90s, I donated platelets...

...24 different times.

I always felt "energized" in the days right after donating.

I had to stop when, on my last attempt to donate, in trying to insert the first needle, they repeatedly hit the wrong spot, causing severe pain, sorta like a bad toothache in my arm.

I called it off and I've never been contacted again to donate, I guess they took me off the list?

[randome]

8. "Felt energized" that long afterwards, huh? Better than a few doses of 5 Hour Energy, I'd say!

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[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. Thank you for these facts.

I was an apheresis RN for the Red Cross, and the facts that you have presented here are correct.

The cell-separating machine has a plastic, disposable kit inside it. It is used only once, and then is discarded. The newest machines are very fast, taking about 60 minutes per donor. There is a considerable variation to how long it takes. Much depends on the size of the donor (the bigger the donor, the bigger the blood volume) and that person's platelet count.

The needles are small and once they're in your veins, you will no longer feel them. You won't be able to move your arms, so you need to tell your nurse or technician if you need anything.

We used to encourage our donors to watch a movie or favorite TV show, or something they could bring in.

I wish you a good experience!

[Bluenorthwest]

3. Gay people are not allowed to donate blood or plasma in the United States

because of...the United States being fear based, slow to action, highly bigoted and unable to keep up with science.

[randome]

5. Yeah, that's part of the questionaire I always answer when donating.

I thought you could still donate but the donation received extra scrutiny but I guess I was wrong.

It seems to me they could still use donations for seriously ill patients. After all, death is worse than the miniscule chance a recipient might contract AIDS, isn't it?

Are there better testing procedures outside the U.S.? Do other countries not have this restriction?

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[Bluenorthwest]

11. The testing procedures are the same, our law is dated and they refuse to update

it. Our law comes from prior to screening for HIV. Based on full mystery around AIDS.
So what you get in your blood supply is no donations from me, healthy, one partner for decades and lots of donations from heterosexual ''sexual addicts' as well as alcoholics, drug abusers and other very trustworthy clean segments of the population. They don't care if the person is promiscuous and drunken, as long as the dozen sex partners a day are opposite sex. Makes me almost crave a transfusion, how about you?

[randome]

17. I don't even see any repercussions from the fundamentalist point of view.

I mean, would anyone -even a Pat Robertson- refuse to receive blood because of the 'taint' of having come from a gay person?

And I don't see that donations would drop in number, either.

So I don't know what the thinking on that prohibition is.

Apparently Canada recently lifted their own ban.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/22/canada-blood-donation-ban-gay_n_3320214.html

Maybe America will be next?

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[Bluenorthwest]

20. Pat Robertson? I remember Archie Bunker and his transfusion from a black guy.

Same sort of thing. Archie was certain it was 'science'. It was just prejudice.

[randome]

23. I remember that. All In The Family was great at exposing our prejudices.

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[CaliforniaPeggy]

6. This is because of the rules of the FDA.

They are concerned that the virus could sneak through before it is detectable by any test. The tests are very good, but they don't catch all the viruses, and this is the reason for the ban.

[Bluenorthwest]

13. And yet straight people get HIV. Yep. Same virus, sneaking through. Is it ok with

folks if they get a virus from heterosexuals? Apparently. Last time I looked, HIV/AIDS was in fact the single largest killer of African American women aged 18-25 but whose counting? How'd that happen?
Why don't other nations continue this crap?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

14. Of course straight people get HIV.

I believe the questions that are asked are designed to uncover any unsafe sexual practice that could lead to the transmission of the virus.



I don't know how other nations handle this thorny issue. Do you?

[Bluenorthwest]

18. 'I believe' are the two word most often used to oppress with falsehoods.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_male_blood_donor_controversy#List_of_countries_with_their_stand_on_MSM_blood_donors

[Skittles]

30. also

I'm a long time donor (straight gal) and have never been asked if I practice unsafe sex

[bunnies]

10. Must be because only gay people get hiv.

Thats just ridiculous.

[Bluenorthwest]

16. That is what the other poster is implying, I will assume unintentionally...

nt

[bunnies]

19. Sounds like blatant discrimination to me.

Does this apply to gay women too? Or is it only gay men that subject to this exclusion...

[Bluenorthwest]

22. Nope, not women, just men and for all time.

It applies for a lifetime.

[bunnies]

24. And here I was... trying not to get pissed off today.

I am so fucking sick of this deeply embedded discrimination against gay men in this society. FFS. It should be so damned hard for people to get the equal treatment they deserve. In all respects. As if who one loves makes them less of a person. Its so fucking sick and twisted.

on edit: Does that mean that if I needed blood my gay male friend wouldnt be able to give it to me? ugh. maybe you shouldnt answer that. My head might explode.

[bunnies]

4. Im not allowed to donate due to the weight restrictions.

Seems stupid to me, but whatever.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

7. If you're too small, a blood donation could harm you. That is the reason.

People under 110 pounds just don't do well. We don't like to see our donors faint or throw up.

[bunnies]

9. Ah. Well that makes sense.

I figured it must be something like that. Fainting & throwing up aren't exactly my favorite things to do, either, so I guess it works out well.

[antiquie]

12. I always wondered

why they wouldn't allow us to just donate a smaller amount. The restriction always made me feel tainted whenever there was a blood drive at work.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

15. I suspect it's because they would need a smaller bag with the appropriate amount of anticoagulant.

Most people are above 110 pounds, and so it wouldn't be cost effective to have such a smaller bag.

I'm sorry you couldn't donate. And there is no reason to feel embarrassed...This is for your safety.

[Skittles]

29. self-delete

sorry, I misunderstood

[hobbit709]

21. They won't take mine because of the meds I'm on.

But I sacrifice blood weekly to the computer gods

[Arugula Latte]

25. Interesting. Didn't know that.

I've donated a few times and then one time I went in and I couldn't donate because I'd had a tooth extraction and they had to rebuild the jawbone a bit. Well, they use cadaver bone for the "spackle" so I had to wait several months before I was eligible to donate again.

[Skittles]

26. I've donated 45.5 gallons of platelets/blood in north Texas

more in Austin

they suck the blood out, spin it, separate the platelets and keep them, and put the blood back in your arm - so it's draw / return / draw / return - you squeeze on the draw, release on the return - the length of time for the process depends on your platelet count and your weight - the last thing they do is take another platelet count which determines your starting status next time.....I've been doing it every three weeks for years - average time with needle in my arm is 100 minutes - yeah, that's double donations

I watch DVD movies during the process

[randome]

27. I guess it's the saline that makes one energized afterwards, as GReedDiamond says.

Do you get the same effect?

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[Skittles]

28. I work 12 hour night shifts

I generally donate in the afternoon, one hour after I wake up - it's always hard for me to stay awake and I don't notice feeling energized afterwards - not much good it would do anyways - cannot do anything extreme or drink for 24 hours

[rurallib]

34. You and I are fairly close in donations

or at least I think we are. Last December was my 45th anniversary of donating. Of that I have been giving platelets and white cells for the past 15 or so years. I am scheduled every 28 days. One could say periodically.

With white cells I usually end up doing 15 or 16 donations per year. This Monday I will be giving for the 11th time since New Year's Eve.

The accounting system that was in place before the blood center moved into it's new home about 15 years ago was trash and they have no idea how much blood I gave before then. I figure 6 a year for 30 years = 180 / 8 = @22.5. We do know that since they have been in their new digs I am up to @27 gallons. So in total somewhere around 45 to 50 gallons.

I have been giving platelets so long that when I started giving they were still doing the two armed machines, which were a bit of a torture.

Oh and I have had my share of pretty ugly bruises breaking in some new technicians. One really bad one this February breaking in two new nurses on white cells.

[Skittles]

40. I really disliked the two-armed deal

I didn't care for getting someone to scratch my nose

[rurallib]

41. White cells is still a two arm situation

the nurses I was breaking in on white cells couldn't master the lower arm return (hence a huge bruise in my arm) and I had to do the beg for a nose scratch 4 donations @ 120 min each.
Had a platelet and 4 white cells in 12 days. I was n ear death I think.

[Skittles]

42. I timed a nose scratch once, when the vampires were really busy

it took 13 minutes to resolve itself

[vinny9698]

31. Donating blood also lowers your cholesterol

Women's cholesterol goes up after menopause. The body has to generate new blood.

[mimitabby]

32. my dearly departed husband

he gave 66 pints of blood before he was diagnosed with cancer.
I find it ironic that you state losing iron being good for your health, if that is true, why did the doctors keep my husband on iron pills for years; as giving blood made him anemic.

He also gave platelets and both of these acts made him feel really good about giving back... And later when he was fighting cancer, he used about 6 pints of blood; so he still died far into the plus zone.

[randome]

33. I'm sorry about your husband.

I suppose the iron reference above -not my statement but from the link- doesn't apply to everyone.

But more information is always welcome so thanks for that.

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[muriel_volestrangler]

35. I find "this can reduce the chance of heart attack by 88%" extremely dubious

That would be one of the biggest health benefits possible. People would be withdrawing blood from their system just for their own health if it were true, whether or not they donated it. I'de love to think it were true, but I can't believe it without some proper medical reference, not just a non-medical charity.

[randome]

37. Good point. Some more links.

I think the best benefit is having your own blood freely tested.

http://blog.lef.org/2010/07/health-benefits-from-donating-blood.html
http://voices.yahoo.com/the-incredible-health-benefits-donating-blood-915729.html?cat=5
http://www.oneblood.org/media/nancys-news/20376-Health-Benefits-of-Donating-Blood.stml

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[Duer 157099]

36. Hmmm. So the medieval practice of blood-letting turned out to be right.

Bring back the leeches!

[randome]

38. It depends.

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[Quantess]

39. One time they told me I needed a little more iron intake and to try again later.

I suppose it increased my awareness of iron intake, which was good. Nobody wants to be anemic!

I donated 4 times, but that one time I was turned away. It was good to know. I went and bought multivitamins with iron that day.

[BlueJazz]

43. My Rabbit makes sure I "Give" blood every time I clip his nails.

[KauaiK]

44. A VERY Personal Thank you!

I want to personally thank blood donors. I was recently hospitalized with internal bleeding and received 9 units of blood. Nine!! I survived because of you donations! Mega thanks to you and your fellow donors.