We all know that donating blood, plasma, or platelets saves lives. The American Red Cross reports that blood is needed every two seconds in the United States. Statistics show that 29,000 units of red blood cells, 5,000 units of platelets, and 6,500 units of plasma are needed daily in the United States, with the majority of people needing type O blood.

According to the Red Cross, blood supply is lowest in the winter because of illness and inclement weather that causes blood donation cancellations. But by donating blood, did you know you aren’t just helping those who need it, you’re also helping yourself?

Health benefits of giving blood

You get a health screening. Before you donate, a nurse does a quick wellness screen to determine if you are healthy enough to give blood. Your blood pressure, pulse rate, temperature, and hemoglobin (the latter to make sure you aren’t anemic) is checked. This is an excellent opportunity for a trained health-care professional to give you feedback on these vitals. This could essentially be life-saving for you because high blood pressure, often called the “silent killer,” usually has no symptoms and can have profound risks. Although you won’t be allowed to donate if something is too far out of range, it can make you aware of a potential health problem.

Your blood is tested. When you donate blood, a small blood sample is sent for analysis to make sure your blood is healthy for someone else’s use. The blood is tested for blood type (A, B, AB, or O) and Rh factor (what designates blood to be positive or negative), both of which designate who can accept your blood. Your blood is also tested for more than a dozen infectious diseases, including hepatitis and HIV. If you test positive for an exclusionary disease, then you are immediately notified, which helps you know of something you might not have been aware of. Your sample is also tested for sickle cell disease, a debilitating genetic blood condition that affects one out of every 365 African Americans. Sickle cell causes stiff, crescent-shaped red blood cells that inefficiently oxygenate the body, which causes pain and can lead to stroke and organ damage. 

Feel good about yourself. Blood donation is described as behavior motivated by pure altruism, defined as showing selfless concern for the wellbeing of others. Altruism is the most common self-reported motive for blood donation – 87 percent of individuals who donate report this as a major reason for doing so.1 It’s no wonder donation campaigns promote slogans like, “Do something amazing, save a life.” These phrases resonate with the public and motivate adults to help others. 

Helpful for hemochromatosis. About one million U.S. adults have type 1 hereditary hemochromatosis (or iron overload disorder), a condition of excess iron that can deposit in different organs of the body, such as the liver, heart, or pancreas, and adversely affect their function. Donating blood is a way to lower your iron level and is a suggested treatment option for individuals who have hemochromatosis.2 

Additional less commonly known health benefits

Although the research is not definitive, some studies suggest additional health benefits you might not be aware of.

Short-term. In an observational study of 300 donors, half had elevated blood pressure before donating. After only four donations, those with blood pressure higher than 140/90 mmHg saw an average decrease in blood pressure of about 11 mmHg systolic (the top number) and about six mmHg diastolic (the bottom number). Researchers indicate there was a dose effect – so the more hypertensive individuals donated, the lower their blood pressure. The decrease was not significantly associated with changes in blood counts or iron levels, meaning blood donation might be an effective way to manage hypertension.3

Blood donation causes your body to start producing new blood cells, proteins, and other blood components, a process that expends energy. Although not well-substantiated, some doctors say you might burn upward of 600 calories per donation,4 although this shouldn’t be a part of a weight loss plan. 

Long-term. One study looked at 160,000 adults who had donated blood for 10 years or more and found that high-frequency female blood donors compared to low-frequency donors had reduced cardiovascular morbidity; although the same effect was not observed in males.5 

A large study that examined overall health, disease risk, and mortality in a group of more than one million donors found blood donors had a 30-percent lower chance of dying and a 4-percent lower risk of developing cancer during the 35 years of the study.6 Another study that focused on weight found obesity to be common among U.S. blood donors, although it was less prevalent than the general population.7 These two studies concluded that blood donors are generally healthier than average and regular donation might play a role in public health crisis management.  

Potential risks of blood donation

Although the pros outweigh the cons when it comes to blood donations, donating blood can come with potential risks or side effects. 

Low iron after donation. It requires more than 24 weeks to replace the iron removed from blood donation while consuming the standard diet without supplementation, even though regular donors can give blood as often as every eight weeks. Research shows more than two-thirds of blood donations come from repeat donors, and the cumulative effect of repeat blood donations without adequate iron replacement can impact a donor’s health. Low iron can cause fatigue, cognitive changes, and neuromuscular symptoms.8

To eliminate this potential issue, you should evaluate your ferritin (stored iron) level after donation and change your donation frequency or add iron supplementation. One study found that 26 percent of blood donors with high donation frequency had ferritin levels of less than 15 micrograms per liter (considered clinically low by the World Health Organization), and 12 percent of them were anemic with low hemoglobin levels. Iron supplementation in this study improved hemoglobin levels to within normal ranges and allowed donating blood to continue.9 Research suggests keeping ferritin at the time of donation above 50 micrograms per liter and to wait more than eight weeks to donate again if ferritin levels are below the desired range.10

Temporary reduction in athletic performance. A review article including eight studies looked at whole blood and the changes in hematology, VO2 max (the amount of oxygen the body can utilize during exercise – a marker of cardiovascular fitness), heart rate, exercising power, and time to exhaustion within the first two days after donation.11 Although no significant differences in heart rate, time to exhaustion, or exercise power were seen, reductions in hemoglobin, hematocrit, and red blood cells count were seen. Four of the studies found VO2 max slightly decreased (by 2.4 mL per kg on average). 

Athletes should focus on electrolyte repletion, hydration, and protein for 24-48 hours after donating and defer exercising during that time. For professional or competitive athletes, change your blood donation schedule so it doesn’t interfere with athletic competition schedules. If you have signs of low iron, then consider taking a blood-building formula with iron, such as Thorne’s Ferrasorb for the week before and after the donation to maintain healthy red blood cell levels.* 

Difficulty interpreting blood test results. It's important to note that some blood tests will be affected for three or more months after donating blood; therefore, you should consider having comparison data from pre-donation and the months following to know how blood donation is impacting you. 

A study of men with normal glucose tolerance who donated whole blood reviewed blood sugar, iron, lipids, and inflammatory markers at different times after donation.12 One day after donation, fasting glucose, insulin, and HOMA-IR (a test of insulin sensitivity) were significantly higher, but three weeks later their HbA1c (a sign of long-term blood sugar levels) decreased an average of three percent from pre-donation. Ferritin levels were significantly lower than pre-donation for the three months of the study.  

What you can do prior to donation

Test your blood levels before donating to establish a baseline. Thorne’s Essential Health Panel tests red blood cell counts, iron, and ferritin levels – in addition to many other blood biomarkers. 

Interested in donating for the health benefits? Make an appointment with your local America’s Blood Centers, American Red Cross, Vitalant, or New York Blood Center. 

References

  1. Glynn SA, Kleinman SH, Schreiber GB, et al. Motivations to donate blood: demographic comparisons. Transfusion 2002;42(2):216-225.
  2. Hereditary hemochromatosis. https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/condition/hereditary-hemochromatosis/ [Accessed November 3, 2022.]
  3. Kamhieh-Milz S, Kamhieh-Milz J, Tauchmann Y, et al. Regular blood donation may help in the management of hypertension: an observational study on 292 blood donors. Transfusion 2016;56(3):637-644.
  4. People F. The surprising benefits of donating blood. Columbia University Irving Medical Center. https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/news/surprising-benefits-donating-blood [Accessed November 8, 2022.]
  5. Peffer K, den Heijer M, de Kort WLAM, et al. Cardiovascular risk in 159,934 frequent blood donors while addressing the healthy donor effect. Heart 2019;105(16):1260-1265.
  6. Edgren G, Tran TN, Hjalgrim H, et al. Improving health profile of blood donors as a consequence of transfusion safety efforts. Transfusion 2007;47(11):2017-2024.
  7. Murphy EL, Schlumpf K, Wright DJ, et al. BMI and obesity in US blood donors: a potential public health role for the blood centre. Public Health Nutr 2012;15(6):964-971.
  8. Kiss JE, Vassallo RR. How do we manage iron deficiency after blood donation? Br J Haematol 2018;181(5):590-603.
  9. Alvarez-Ossorio L, Kirchner H, Klüter H, Schlenke P. Low ferritin levels indicate the need for iron supplementation: strategy to minimize iron-depletion in regular blood donors. Transfus Med 2000;10(2):107-112.
  10. Schotten N, Pasker-de Jong PCM, Moretti D, et al. The donation interval of 56 days requires extension to 180 days for whole blood donors to recover from changes in iron metabolism. Blood 2016;128(17):2185-2188.
  11. Johnson DM, Roberts J, Gordon D. The acute effects of whole blood donation on cardiorespiratory and haematological factors in exercise: A systematic review. PLoS One 2019;14(4):e0215346.
  12. Borai A, Livingstone C, Farzal A, et al. Changes in metabolic indices in response to whole blood donation in male subjects with normal glucose tolerance. Clin Biochem 2016;49(1-2):51-56.