Do you ever consider donating blood for those in need of it? Do you ever consider that one day you or a loved one may be in dire need of a blood transfusion?
Maybe you have fears of needles and the process of donating blood? Or, thoughts of risks versus benefits as it pertains to your personal health?
Maybe you have thought of all this and more but for some selfish/personal reasons, you still haven’t volunteered because your perception is that donating blood really doesn’t benefit you personally and will cost you time.
If you are motivated more to do things for selfish reasons over donating to others, continue reading because there are actually a handful of personal benefits to gain from donating blood that most non-donors are completely unaware of!
In this article, we are going to highlight a handful of benefits to be gained from donating blood! So many good ones in fact, that it should make you think twice about not going and instead, get you motivated to go and donate like, today!
1st Benefit From Donating Blood: Mini Health Check Up
Before drawing your blood out of an arm, you will get a free mini health check up. Especially for men on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) programs, this is a HUGE benefit to help stay on top of monitoring your health.
Every time I go to American Red Cross to donate every couple of months, I get my temperature, blood pressure and pulse checked along with my hemoglobin tested with immediate results given to me right on the spot. This is nice to know and have a couple of indicators of my cardiovascular state of health.
Having high blood pressure over an extended period of time without knowing or addressing it, can contribute to many health complications over time. In addition, having signs of polycythemia with elevations in hemoglobin and hematocrit and especially if high platelet counts are high as well, may potentially be stressing our cardiovascular system and health of our heart.
Furthermore, you consent to HIV testing in addition to any infectious diseases that could be found. If something were to be found, you would be notified of such.
Any of these would be something that any of us should want to address sooner than later if applicable should something alarming be found pertaining to our blood and health.
Again, this does not financially cost us anything and for the little bit of time we give, this could be worth the value of this mini health check up alone!
2nd Benefit From Donating Blood: May Reduce Risk of Heart Disease & Cancer
Personally, this is my selfish and personal motivator to donate blood several times a year. Being on a doctor prescribed and monitored TRT program, I do tend to get elevations in red blood cells, hemoglobin, hematocrit and iron over time.
Whether it is just coincidence, correlation or causation from TRT - my numbers here get elevated. So for me, “thinning out” my blood is something I feel good about doing for my personal health and of course because I know I’m helping to save someone’s life in addition.
Polycythemia is a condition where your body produces too many red blood cells and high blood hematocrit levels. Hematocrit refers to the amount of red blood cells in your blood. If your hematocrit levels elevate too high, there is the fear that the blood will become too thick or viscous. This could equate to a higher probability that you may develop blood clots over time leading to strokes, heart attacks, and other clotting events.
Secondary Polycythemia influenced by TRT is something to take seriously if it applies. Giving one pint of blood should lower your numbers by roughly 3%.
In recent years, there has been an increased association between TRT and polycythemia. With TRT becoming a more mainstream treatment, more guys are becoming aware of the symptoms of polycythemia. However, this tends to have a stronger correlation with those taking too much TRT or not staying within healthy ranges.
Note: We should understand the purpose of TRT - which is to restore testosterone to NORMAL, healthy levels in the body and NOT be abusive or add in outside substances. Ideally, testosterone levels should be maintained in an optimized zone while on TRT.
As we should know, iron is essential to our body and wellness and we absolutely need it. However, it has been shown that excess iron can contribute to tumor initiation and tumor growth. Epidemiological evidence links increased body iron stores to increased cancer risk.
Unlike women who lose blood and iron with regular menses cycles, men do not have a need for as much iron. An estimated 16 million Americans have some degree of iron overload, either inherited or acquired. Hereditary hemochromatosis is found more commonly in the Caucasian population. It is estimated that 1 out of 200 US Caucasians are positive for iron overload. Men with primary hemochromatosis are more likely to experience symptoms than women due to lack of menses.
Sometimes due to various reasons, individuals can get a buildup of too much iron. Donating blood may help to reduce numbers here!
3rd Benefit From Donating Blood: Saving Lives Feels Good!
I don’t know about you, but I feel good when I help others. And I surely feel good knowing that I helped someone in desperate need of a blood transfusion or, save a life.. One cool thing with many donation centers is that they will often notify you when your blood has been put to use and who it helped as well.
Knowing that I have contributed to helping dozens of individuals since I have personally been donating blood 3-4 times a year since 2014 is a good feeling. With every donation, we can help 1-3 people in a time of need for it.
4th Benefit From Donating Blood: Free Refreshments and Gifts
Okay, so maybe this isn’t a big deal or huge motivator. But, you are offered water, juice, cookies or more after you’re done donating.
I would prefer a good protein bar or shake instead, but I’m not complaining. A few Oreo cookies on occasion isn’t so bad. Plus, I was recently able to redeem my awarded GNC gift card I was given as a thank you for my last blood donation. I used this to get a few of my favorite protein bars and supplements. Another little token of appreciation given back and one more benefit from donating blood to those in need.
Stay Healthy & Be Giving,
Roger & YOUTH-Rx Team
Cited References:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4036554/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526131/
- https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/blood-donation-process/donation-process-overview.html
