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 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 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’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 haven’t yet, but plan to starting next month. I high key just want a little bit of extra change for my hobbies, hehe. If I could just grow plants with my blood, Little Shop of Horrors style, I would. Running it through a middleman is the next best thing.
No, I fell out of the habit when I started having lots of casual sex and I have reynauds disease making it a long and uncomfortable process. Also I have a scar on my vein from selling plasma
I tried once. But they said they couldn’t take it in a bucket and wouldn’t stop asking where I got it from.
Bender: I’m very generous! What about that time I gave blood?
Fry: Whose blood?
Bender: Some guy’s.
Bureaucracy ruins everything.
The only thing I can tell you is that based on how much blood is in this bucket, you are in desperate need of blood.
Most of my life I’ve not been allowed to donate blood because I’m a man who has sex with men. I believe I can now, but after decades of ineligibility it still feels weird to think about.
You are now eligible, they recently removed the requirement. It’s a nice thing to do, and I always urge people to do it if they can, but don’t give them your contact info because depending on your blood type they can be real vampires. Source I have O- blood and was contacted daily to donate blood for over a year, even when ineligible to donate blood (because I donated yesterday)
I do. I donate as often as I’m allowed, which is about 4 times a year. The only effect I’ve felt is that exercise, especially cardio, is a bit harder. My time on a 5k run dropped noticeably.
Donated 60 times in total so far, which means there’s more of my blood in other people, than in me. By quite a lot.
Yes, every 12 weeks, which is the minimum gap between donating in the UK. I always feel fine, usually I sleep for a longer period so I plan accordling and hace a restful day.
It’s the least I can do.
Yeah same in Australia for me. Fwiw it’s also a way to rid yourself of some of the forever chemicals lurking in your body, eg pfas. They worked it out testing firefighters* blood and the regular blood donors had less of the chemicals in their system.
*firefighters get excess exposure to the chemicals as they’re common in firefighting foam.
As someone who has received a blood transfusion, thank you random stranger whose blood is now inside me!
I want to “give back” somehow, but I obviously can’t donate blood (yet?).
In college we would donate then go get drunk off one beer at the campus pub then go to class
Hmm, you’ve gotta think whether the alcohol would be more potent since there’s less blood, no?
That’s the whole idea!
Ive donated about a dozen times, mostly when its convienent like when they call our local donation bus out to where ever im working.
For the feeling, almost no effect. I mostly spend my time there cracking jokes about how this is a good way to lose weight, or how im only really there because I want a juice box and a cookie. Its more of an excuse to not have to be 100% mentally there for the rest of the work day.
As for the why, Ill sign up and donate when I can, but I dont seek it out. I know its important, but it is a donation, which because of the US insurance and medical industries will be sold to the person who needs it most. (Someone who knows more about this please correct me on it if that assumption is wrong).
Yeah same here, just whenever work brings a bus out. I feel a little icky that they’re just gonna turn around and sell it into the system at exorbitant prices, but I at least feel better that someone who needs it will get it.
I’ve never experienced any side effects either, other than just taking the bandage off too soon and having a leaky arm.
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).
