Does donating blood prolong your life?

As I understand it, women lose 2tbsp a month for 30 years - I doubt it's the bloodletting thats doing it. Possible, perhaps, but I wouldn't try to prove causuality from just that.

Though, I guess any excuse is good to donate blood - it certainly prolongs someones life, and makes you feel pretty good about yourself. I'm coming up on two gallons in a few months! =)

 

If there was ever a topic for Fred, this is it! I understand there is weak evidence for health benefits for the bleeding of males in particular. You gonna make me find the literature?

I did whole blood donations about 80 times before the platelet people got their hooks in me. Since then I have been doing apherisis about every 3 weeks, About twice a year I try to "drop in" a whole blood donation, just to get rid of the stuff. Supposing, as perhaps you do, that there may be benefits to dumping that stuff from time to time.

There is a big need for all blood products, but I would rather not be the rah-rah here. For those who can't or won't; consider taking (under doctors advice) aspirin regularly. I can assure you that it will strongly interfere with the ability of your platelets to make blood clots. This being approximately the same thing as stroke, and several initiators of myocardial infarction.

I am perfectly willing to discuss privately with anyone the dire need for blood products, and what it is like to get "stuck". Cannot however assess whether you are a good candidate. The people with the pointy things will do that.

 

Men tend to work longer hours at more stressful and more dangerous jobs than women. This fact is slowly changing, which is why the difference in longevity is shrinking.

So if you want to live longer, don't kill yourself working too many hours at a stressful job that you hate--because you are in fact literally killing yourself. (Of course, that's easier said than done, especially when you are the primary breadwinner for your family and struggling financially.)

 

I know some people that refuse to 'donate'. They say that the blood service that takes the blood sells it to hospitals, so why should they donate it. They sell it instead.

I felt that they have to sell it to make money to collect it, store it, record keeping, etc. I know there is a beuacracy too , but overall, if not them, who?

 

No, because everytime you give blood, you get to eat Twinkies, cookies, and sugary juice!

Actually, the Twinkie may prolong your life if you think about it...you can leave a wrapped Twinkie in your kitchen cabinet for 10 years, then eat it, and it will be as fresh as the day it was made. Maybe we all need some of that Twinkie power inside our blood stream!

 

Oh now you are going to make me an apologist for the Red Cross and United Blood Services!

Being on the receiving end for a bag is very expensive. Some of that money goes into testing the blood products for infectious diseases. If you are on the receiving end (and conscious) I imagine that you would want something without cooties.

Red Cross regularly shows up in the media for not managing their funds very well. Some of their top staff are rather overpaid and (IMHO) not awfully bright. But the system is what it is.

Some folks do choose to donate, then a bunch of stuff happens, then somebody at the other end gets a bag and a better chance of survival. That's just about it.

I have met many police and other emergency service workers, next couch over, all needled up. They come in on their day off because they have much experience what it's like on "the other end". It is quite humbling.

 

Women are shorter and displace less volume. That's less blood to pump and less stress on the heart besides different metabolism.

There's been studies that suggest lowering caloric intake, which lowers metabolism, helps slow the burning of your lifespan.

 

I think the lifespan thing has more to do with hormones.

I was never offered twinkies when donating blood, but this is a good thing. Those are disgusting. I'll take apple juice and a home-made cookie any day!

I'll just state my opinion that giving blood does not prolong the life of the donor, but it sure can prolong the life of the recipient.

 

I give, and having ab+ I get a call every now and then that a baby is having open heart... could I please come down... you are a very good match..

I should give more.. I at one time gave every xx days... they like my blood.

 

Tochatihu, and every one else who donates blood and/or platelets regularly, THANK YOU!!! I work in a hospital blood bank, and it's really frustrating to tell someone that I can't get platelets for their patient cause we don't have any. I understand the problems a lot of folks have with Red Cross(and I have those problems as well), but there are other groups out there who collect and distribute blood products, like LifeSouth. There have to be charges for blood products to cover the cost of collecting, testing, storing and distributing the products. The hospital also adds charges for their cost to do more testing, storage, etc. From what I've seen, LifeSouth has a lower overhead than Red Cross, and their blood costs less. There are probably local versions of LifeSoutha around the country. Some really big hospitals even run their own donor centers. So if you really hate Red Cross, check around and see who else you can donate to.

Donors DO save lives....I've seen it.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pjm877 @ Jun 3 2006, 11:07 AM) [snapback]265156[/snapback]</div>

That might be a good story to get you to come in, but AB+ is the universal receiver, if that's the baby's blood type ANY blood type is a match.

For plasma, AB+ is the universal donor, but since plasma freezes for a year it's in less demand than other blood products.

 

I never considered blood donation as prolonging life, but have donated regularly for the last 40 years and just passed my 74th year. Maybe it works.

 

There might be a bit of truth to the "giving whole blood' prolonging life idea.High iron levels are associated with increase risk of death'some chronic diseases.

There is a bit of controversy in respect to this;there is a noted scienctist-forget his name-whose main claim to fame is the topic of this thread.
Whatever, it is no worse than harmless for someone in reasonable health, and it might actually have a positive effect.Luck,Charlie

 

Men have a Y chromosome, which doesn't do us any favours in the life expectancy area, and all that testosterone isn't too good either. We are built like Italian race cars: potentially high performance, but not too good for reliability.

Tom

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(seasalsa @ Jun 4 2006, 01:20 PM) [snapback]265680[/snapback]</div>

Keep it up! You are my hero and I bet your arms look even worse than mine. Bwahaha. Here's your pin.

 

There is zero evidence to suggest blood letting prolongs like, and IMO no physiological rationale to think it would, polycythemics nothwithstanding (who would be deferred anyway).

Blood collection is a business, usually run as a non-profit. The FDA's meddling has pretty much insured that in this country, only a few collection agencies can survive the regulatory cost, and those companies turn into inefficient, expensive, beauracratic quasi-monopolies.

A couple of years ago, I was the medical director for a regional blood center. One day I donated blood. There is a tech who reads of a questionaire prior to the donation. To speed things up a bit, and to save him the time, I took the form and filled it out myself. The next day I was notified by the administrator that my blood had been trashed, because it had not been collected according to 'standard procedure'; specifically, that the questions in the form had not been verbally read to me by a person trained in doing so. This was all the more ludicrous, because I was the person who had signed off on all those standard procedures, but because I had not gone through the 'training', the collection was unacceptable.

I left Blood Banking not long thereafter, and have not donated since. To be honest, the patient requiring blood should not have to go without, but my tolerance for having my blood thrown away for idiocy's sake is low.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Subversive @ Jun 2 2006, 11:24 PM) [snapback]264984[/snapback]</div>

I would agree that the lifestyle of men makes much more sense than the blood as a reason for having a lower lilfe expectancy. I haven't read any of the literature on the loss of blood though.

 

When you lose blood (as in donation), your cardiovascular system has to work extra hard for a short time to build more.
If you are the teensiest bit prone to heart disease, the little bit of "exercise" that this involves could, possibly, be beneficial.
I'm NOT saying that if you HAVE heart disease that it will be beneficial. I'm not a doctor, though I did work for one at one time (actually, he was the area's "premier" heart specialist), I only know what I know due to a lifetime of curiosity, research, and connecting the dots.