The Importance of Donating Blood Regularly
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I gave blood today and before giving blood they take my blood pressure and pulse and temperature. By giving blood regularly, you can get your blood pressure, pulse and temperature values regularly so that you can know what your 'normal' readings are. Today I had 122/75 blood pressure, a pulse of 60 and a temperature of 36.6C - all fairly normal values. It was my 43rd blood donation today, and I do it this often because I am able to donate without fainting or getting queesy and so that I can monitor these health signals. Here in Quebec only about 3% of the eligible population gives blood. Since I am one of those 3%, I go almost as often as I can. The rule here is that I can give blood again in eight weeks, so September 20th I'll be looking to see what is the soonest mobile blood donor clinic by checking their website.
There is a constant need from hospitals for the blood donations that people like me provide. Given that only 3% of the people here donate, it is important that those 3% do so more regularly. The Hema-Quebec website indicates that 250,000 units of blood are used each year in Quebec requiring 1000 donations per day, so obviously the more each donor can donate, the better off the system will be. Giving to help others is by far the most important reason for donating blood.
There are health benefits to giving blood on a regular basis, they are listed below.
- Reduce your Iron level - for men especially who do not have a monthly blood loss, giving blood regularly reduces the amount of iron in the blood which lowers the chance of cardiovascular problems.
- Lower Cancer Risks - by donating blood regularly the blood is replaced with new, fresh blood which is a form of diluting the total human blood supply of any toxins that may be in there. This reduces the risks for many types of cancers, including stomach, throat, lung, colon and liver.
- Refreshing the blood supply - with regular donations the blood supply is refreshed which helps the blood to do its job more efficiently.
- Tracking Health Indicators - by getting the readings of blood pressure, pulse and temperature, and keeping track of these with each donation, we can more easily identify if a problem comes up because we have a baseline to compare to.
If you have never given blood, give it a try to see if you are able to and that it is not a difficult thing for you to do. If it works out, see if you can manage to go more than once a year, or even as often as you are able to.
What is your blood donation method?
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Thanks, mouse - the readings I posted in this hub are actually just about my average for the last six years of donating.
How about that! Giving blood has health benefits for the giver, even beyond the monitoring of vitals. I'd not known. Thanks for posting this!
i gave blood once and they were always asking for more cause i'm type B+. once i knew how freaking big that needle was, i lost interest. i HATE needles. now i can't give blood anyway because i'm on chronic meds. my grandfather and mother gave gallons of blood over many years. i'm proud of them, just not the same as them.
I find very interesting shown PROS. I dont know why it is not used in PR camapaigns here in Czech republic for blood donate. Easily i didnt know it, but PR about blood donate is everywhere. Its strange and pitty.
Wow great info about giving blood. I didn't know it had such good benefits all around. I get really queasy and have fainted when I had to give blood, but it's still something I should continuously do.
Thanks for posting. Voted up as usual!
Dee - I always thought that giving blood regularly had benefits, I just didn't the details of it until I researched for this hub.
Cathy - indeed there are many people who hate needles and for that reason alone they do not donate. I'm not bothered by needles as I can easily dismiss any discomfort or pain knowing that this is for the greater good.
Neo - maybe you can direct the blood drive organizations in the Czech Republic to read this hub.
Apple - Thanks for the votes! I've seen a few people get queasy, some of them still keep going while others give up. I guess it has to do with the degree of queasiness.
I gave blood, or plasma I think, a few times. (Is that why you call yourself Phil Plasma? I got a big bruise on my arm each time, so they sent me packing. I think it is admirable to give blood regularly. My husband used to donate blood for babies. Who knew there were actually some benefits to blood-letting! good for you!
I have heard that happen here in Quebec also - a friend who fainted the two times she gave blood was told to not come back. This is one of the reasons I give as much as I do, to take the place of people who want to but can't.
Good information. I'm a 56 day giver (every 56 days I go give), but I didn't realize all the benefits that I was getting while giving. Well written, as usual; voted up and interesting.
Yay! It isn't just me that gives regularly. I'm so pleased you go regularly too.
I did not know that you could lower your iron levels as well as Lower your Cancer Risks. Great advice, thanks for the hub.
Das, I didn't know until I researched for this hub either. Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for the blood hub Phil. It reminds me that I used to give blood regularly, every 8 weeks when I was working. Since I retired, I have not not given much at all. I will try to get into the habit again. Thanks again.
gouf, thank you for taking it up again, I am sure many would be thankful to hear about it.
Giving blood is so important - my brother's life was saved because someone was generous enough to donate blood.
Great hub!
Hi Pink, I'm glad for the news about your brother, it is why I give as much as I do.
I didn't know there are so many health benefits of donating blood. I have only donated twice and I will definitely try to donate more after reading your article.
BB, someone out there will be very grateful if you can donate more, even if it is just once a year, but every year. If it can be twice a year, even better! Thanks for stopping by.
It is important to donate blood.
Yes, it is.
Wow,such good benefits I'm scheduled to donate for my first time in two day and I'm so excited that I get to because my younger friends are to young to donate and they're so gelous of me :).
Amber, that's great, I just gave blood again two days ago. I do hope that this hub encourages others to go.
hungrymouse 10 months ago
Important information that everyone should know. I particularly found the part about the baseline comparison interesting. Ineresting and up.