Apart from helping the people who need the blood to get better, or even to survive illnesses, there are great benefits for the donor (and no, I don't mean the awesome keyring I got!). In the way of health and life expectancy generally women live longer than men and this may be to do with the fact that they lose blood each month through menstruation. So here are some of the benefits for a donor health -
Weightloss: I can't exert myself and go for a run today, but I've done something way more calorie burning! Donating a pint of blood burns 650 calories on average! That's way more than the amount that would have been burnt by me going for a run!
Prevention of cancer and aging: It reduces the iron build up in your blood which can help reduce your risks of getting cancer because iron in the blood increases the level of free-radical damage to your body, in turn increasing the risk of cancer and aging.
Reduces risk of Type II Diabetes: Several studies have found that by reducing the iron stores by getting rid of excess iron and minerals the sensitivity to insulin is increased and therefore risk of type II diabetes is reduced.
Heart Problems: It can also help with heart problems because the body will replace the blood lost in 2 days. But this is mostly just fluid, it can take up to 56 days for all of the red blood cells to regenerate up to their former numbers. In turn, this makes the blood diluted and thinner therefore, applying less pressure to the heart and arteries.
So, it's all good news! Only bad part of it was the fact that when I sat up I nearly passed out but the nurses were absolutely lovely and got me back to my former self by feeding me biscuits and giving me fluids :) I really recommend it to anyone that is able to give blood!
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