Blood is one of the most important components in the human body. Your decision to donate blood through blood donors can save one life, or even several lives at once. Not only beneficial for the recipient, as a donor, you can also get the health benefits of donating blood for your own health. Anything? Check out the review below.
What are the health benefits of donating blood?
Blood donation allows you to give a small amount of blood in the body. Usually, as much as 480 milliliters of blood is taken.
Men can donate blood every 12 weeks (3 months) and women can donate blood every 16 weeks (four months)—a maximum of 5 times in 2 years—because men usually have more iron stores than women.
Later, the blood you donate will be checked and tested for safety and grouped by blood group. This is useful so that the blood given is truly in accordance with the patient’s needs and is ensured to be safe from possible diseases that appear in the blood.
Some conditions that require blood donation, including:
- Accident
- Organ transplant
- Cancer
- Anemia
- Sickle cell anemia
- Thalassemia
- Hemophilia
In addition to patients, there are several health benefits of donating blood, namely:
1. Lowers the risk of heart and blood vessel disease
Regular blood donation is known to be beneficial for lowering blood viscosity. The thicker the blood that flows in the body, the higher the possibility of friction between blood and blood vessels.
The friction that occurs in these blood vessels can damage blood vessel wall cells, which can further increase the risk of blood vessel blockage. This condition increases your risk of experiencing heart disease.
According to American Journal of Epidemiology, blood donation activities can reduce the risk of heart disease by 33% and heart attack by 88%. The American Medical Association says that donating blood every 6 months can reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke at the age of 43-61 years.
This is because blood donation also helps the body to get rid of excess iron. Excessive iron in the blood can cause oxidation of cholesterol. The results of the oxidation process can accumulate on artery walls and increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Through blood donation, iron levels in the body can become more stable and reduce the risk of heart and blood vessel disease.
Lower blood pressure
Research shows that people who donate blood experience a gradual drop in blood pressure. Normal blood pressure will prevent you from having heart attacks and strokes.
2. Lowers the risk of cancer
The next benefit of blood donation is to prevent cancer. This is also still related to the amount of iron that is reduced when donating.
According to research published in Journal of the National Cancer Institute, excess iron can cause free radical damage that puts you at risk for cancer and aging.
3. Help lose weight
According to the University of California San Diego, donating 450 milliliters of blood can actually burn as much as 650 calories. That’s why, blood donation is also useful for maintaining ideal body weight and keeping you from obesity risk.
Even so, do not make blood donation as an ‘event’ to lose weight. Excessive blood donation can be harmful to your health.
4. Detect serious illness
Every time you want to donate blood, you will undergo routine basic checks, such as checking your weight, body temperature, pulse, blood pressure, and hemoglobin levels.
You will also be asked to undergo a blood test to detect the presence or absence of infectious diseases, such as: HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, syphilis, and malaria. It aims to prevent the occurrence of disease transmission through transfusion.
For donors, this examination is of course useful for early detection of certain diseases. So in addition to helping others who need blood, you can also get free health checks.
5. Encourages Blood Cell Production
By donating blood regularly, your spinal cord will produce new red blood cells to replace the donated blood. That way, the production of blood cells will increase and cause blood flow to become smooth.
6. Helps to be psychologically healthier and live longer
A study in the field of psychology shows that people who donate blood with the aim of helping others have a lower risk of death. These results are compared with those who donate blood for their own sake or don’t donate blood at all.
Another important benefit of blood donation is the fact that donating something priceless to the needy will make us feel psychologically satisfied.
What to do before donating blood?
First of all, you need to fulfill blood donation requirements. Some of the general requirements include:
- Physically healthy
- Between 17-66 years old
- Weight more than 45 kg
- Body temperature between 36.6-37.5 degrees Celsius
In addition to having to meet the requirements for blood donation, here are some things that you must prepare before carrying out the procedure in order to get the maximum health benefits of donating blood, such as:
- Drink plenty of fluids the day before blood donation, especially if the weather is hot. The reason is, when donating blood, your blood volume will decrease.
- You can eat salty food approximately 12 hours before donating blood. The reason is, after the blood is drawn, you lose about 3 grams of salt from the body.
- Sufficient daily iron needs so as not to lack iron. You can eat beef, fish, broccoli, asparagus, spinach, and other green vegetables.
- Make sure you get enough sleep before drawing blood.
- Tell all types of medicines you are currently taking (be it prescription, over-the-counter, vitamins, or herbal) before donating blood.
- Eat enough 3-4 hours before donating to prevent weakness, dizziness, or lightheadedness after blood donation.
- Three hours before donating blood, you are advised to drink plenty of water or fruit juice.
What should you prepare when donating blood?
Here are some things you should prepare when donating blood:
- Use loose clothing or not too tight to facilitate the process of taking blood.
- If this is your first time donating blood, try to relax. You can try listening to music, reading, or chatting with fellow donors to make the blood draw process run smoothly.
- If you are used to it, the process of finding blood vessels becomes easier. You can inform this to the donor officer.
What should you pay attention to after donating blood?
After donating blood, you are advised to sit for a while while drinking water or eating a small meal. You can get up slowly to make sure you don’t feel dizzy. Don’t be in a hurry to get up.
In addition, there are some tips that you can do so that you can really feel the health benefits of donating bloo, including:
- Limit physical activity for at least 5 hours after donor.
- Do not immediately remove the plaster attached to the injection area.
- Clean the area around the plaster with soap and water.
- If you experience bruising at the injection site, you can apply a cold compress to ease the pain.
- If the needle stick is bleeding, it’s best to apply pressure to the area and raise your arm straight up for about 5-10 minutes or until the bleeding stops.
- Do not stand long in direct sunlight and do not drink hot drinks.
- If you smoke, it is best not to smoke for two hours after donating blood.
- If you drink alcohol, you should not drink alcohol until 24 hours after the donation.
- Drink lots of fluids to replace your lost body fluids, at least you add 4 glasses of water on the day you donate blood.
- Expand foods that contain iron, vitamin C, folic acid, riboflavin (B2), and vitamin B6.
Inform the donor officer if you experience health problems after donating blood, such as feeling nauseous, dizzy, experiencing bleeding, or there is a lump in the injection site.
Markethealthbeauty.com does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Source
- Salonen, J., Tuomainen, T., Salonen, R., Lakka, T., & Nyyssonen, K. (1998). Donation of Blood Is Associated with Reduced Risk of Myocardial Infarction: The Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study. American Journal of Epidemiology, 148(5), 445-451. two: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a009669
- Volunteering to Help Others Could Lead to Better Health. (2011). Retrieved September 3, 2020, from https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2011/09/volunteering-health
- Zacharski, L., Chow, B., Howes, P., Shamayeva, G., Baron, J., & Dalman, R. et al. (2008). Decreased Cancer Risk After Iron Reduction in Patients With Peripheral Arterial Disease: Results From a Randomized Trial. JNCI Journal Of The National Cancer Institute, 100(14), 996-1002. doi: 10.1093/jnci/djn209
- Salonen, J., Tuomainen, T., Salonen, R., Lakka, T., & Nyyssonen, K. (1998). Donation of Blood Is Associated with Reduced Risk of Myocardial Infarction: The Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study. American Journal Of Epidemiology, 148(5), 445-451. two: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a009669
