Why? How often? How do you feel after?
I do as often as I can, which is every 4 months because I donate double red cells. I am O negative so my red cells are extremely useful in emergencies and it is something I can do to help other people. Donating doubles they give you your plasma plus some saline back so you end up with the same volume of fluid. Because of this, I feel perfectly fine afterwards. I am currently at almost 7 gallons donated.
I’m a perfect world, everybody (that physically could) would do this.
But I feel like the fact is a paid thing just makes us all potential blood for evil rich people, literally paying their meatbags to keep a supply around for when they need something. Because you know none of them have ever donated.
I’m not trying to say we shouldn’t, as I’ve benefited several times myself, but just the idea it’s paid makes me feel weird about it.
But we do live in the capitalist past of the multiverse, so it’s inevitable I guess. I know people who depend on that money, too.
I actually donate a lot, bout every two months for whole blood. I do it all the time so afterwards I feel no difference, maybe a sore arm if the phlebotomist wasn’t the best. If you go in with an empty stomach you might feel crappy and if you go in dehydrated they’ll struggle getting the blood… and you’ll feel pretty crappy.
I do it mostly for the civic duty of it all. Better to help when you can imo. Also there is a ton of data about donating blood being good for you. I’ve seen articles on it helping remove micro plastics and PFAS chemicals from the body. So hey, might as well
I’m so tired of getting my blood taken for work at the doctor so I don’t know if I will consider donating
Nope, very prone to vasovagal syncope. I tried once, went black almost immediately and spent an hour in the bus recovering. Luckily my blood type is one of the most common, so no big loss.
I used to donate blood every few months, then I needed the money so I donated Plasma twice a week for a couple years. Now I’m afraid the scarring on my veins would be too much so I try to avoid IV needles at all costs.
Just to add to the conversation I’m in school to be a med tech and transfusion is one of the proficiencies! Its pretty cool how it works, basically after the donation we spin it down into packed red cells and plasma. Plasma gets pooled and treated and can be fractionated out into specific coagulation products or used as a suspension for platelets. Packed red cells are filtered (leukocyte reduced), sometimes treated or irradiated and have SAGM added (saline, adenine, glucose, mannitol) to stabilize the cells for storage.
In the lab we test and crossmatch to make sure everything is compatible before giving the ok! Sometimes it is just ABO and Rh grouping but there are a bunch of other antigens on red cells that recipients can develop antibodies to with repeat transfusion so sometimes we need to identify if that antibody is present and match with units that don’t have it so it won’t react.
There are also a bunch of complications with testing like nonspecific antibodies, cold reacting antibodies, subgroups of antigens, Its really interesting!
Hello fellow med tech. The science is the best part of the job. Just wanted to pop in and wish you good luck with school.
Thanks! I graduate next year, hoping to land a job in a path core. Can’t wait to get working!
If you can you should. If you’re healthy giving a pint of blood is not going to be much of a bother. Eat a good meal before hand and then have some of the snacks provided afterwards. Even if your blood isn’t suitable for transfusion it can be used for research.
I always felt good after I donated.
I used to, but it’s not really a thing here.
I used to. “Why not?” would be the reason. I never felt anything at all afterwards. I would schedule my donations so I don’t have any hard exercise later the same day, but otherwise it wouldn’t impact my life at all.
I stopped after going to my GP for an entirely unrelated reason and being told that I had severely low iron levels. I don’t believe it was related to donating, but it does mean they couldn’t use my blood.
You lose quite a lot of iron when donating blood:
Each time you donate blood, you lose between 220-250 mg of iron. It may take up to 24-30 weeks for your body to replace the iron lost through a blood donation. That time may vary, depending on what your iron level was before donating and if you take iron supplements or multivitamins with iron.
AFAIK many people are fine (no symptoms) with having low iron levels.
I’m one of these people! The only downside I’ve ever noticed to being somewhat anemic is that I can’t always donate blood which irks me a little bit I guess it makes sense!
In the UK they’re unbelievably serious about it. If your iron levels are a fraction below their threshold you’re out and barred for 12 months (unless you get a blood test by your GP).
Financial incentive plus I have a blood group that’s beneficial to patients
Once around every 2ish to 3 months - essentially however often I’m allowed to
Usually good. Don’t feel dizzy or sick afterwards since I eat and drink well before donating.
I do donate plasma quite regularly too - around once a week - but have not four a couple months now since I got a new tattoo in November. For similar reasons as with blood donations
I recently found out the blood bank has an office near my favourite bar. So I’m going to give blood before a few beers and see how I go. Should be a cheap night.
Fun fact. People from the UK who lived there while BSE was a thing cannot donate blood in the US, pretty much ever.
Ah yes, that’s also a thing here in the Netherlands. If you’ve lived in the UK for 6 months or longer between Jan 1980 and Dec 1996 you cannot donate.
It’s a question that comes up in the pre-donation examination at my facility too. Germany here
I would, but I can’t. I am medicated for my ADHD and depression. Both disqualify me in that regard
Only your depression would because I too am on ADHD meds and donate regularly.
You cannot throw that as a blanket statement. Rules vary by country and medication. Judging by their profile the person you are responding to lives in Denmark, which actually seems to have fairly strict rules in this regard. Some of the ADHD medications I’ve been on in the past would have actually have disqualified me as a full blood donor there, had I still used them. Although the rules for plasma donation are less strict, so that might still be an option.
Valid point. I retract my statement.
Huh, in the US, they allow donors with antidepressants and ADHD meds. Source, im a regular donor who has been on both.
It might depend on the specific medicines, but anti-depressant are an automatic disqualification here
I donated three times. The first was through a campaign at my workplace. Absolutely nothing worth noting happened. The second was through a campaign at my university. I fainted and my blood pressure went way down. The third time, a friend needed transfusion, so, the hospital asks for friends and family to replenish it. Since I fainted the second time, they took less blood. I was still a little dizzy but ok.
