Donating blood is safe if you have had the COVID-19 vaccine. It is also a way to feel that you have positively helped during the COVID-19 crisis. “People who do these types of things and engage in their community in this way tend to have better health and longer lives.” “Giving blood is a way to engage in the immediate community and help people around you,” Vossoughi adds. People usually donate because it feels good to help others, and altruism and volunteering have been linked to positive health outcomes, including a lower risk for depression and greater longevity. One blood donation can save up to three lives, according to DeSimone. “That blood will then be used for somebody who needs it.” A happier, longer life “Instead of having to go to a clinic or one of our phlebotomy centers every few months to reduce their blood volume, they can go to any local blood drive,” Vossoughi says. The New York Blood Center Hereditary Hemochromatosis Program allows people with hemochromatosis to donate blood rather than have it removed and thrown away. “These are essentially healthy patients who are otherwise normal, but they have a gene mutation where they make too much blood, and they make too much normal blood,” Vossoughi says. Fortunately, this blood can benefit others. People with a condition called hereditary hemochromatosis must have blood removed regularly to prevent the buildup of iron. We think maybe it’s because women have menstrual cycles, so they do it naturally without donating blood.” “Interestingly, these benefits are more significant in men compared to women. What’s the connection? “If your hemoglobin is too high, blood donation helps to lower the viscosity of the blood, which has been associated with the formation of blood clots, heart attacks, and stroke,” DeSimone says. This article originally appeared in Health Matters, an online publication of NewYork-Presbyterian. “It definitely helps to reduce cardiovascular risk factors,” says DeSimone. Regular blood donation is linked to lower blood pressure and a lower risk for heart attacks. Plus, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing your donation is particularly needed. This information can be useful if you ever face surgery or another medical situation in which a transfusion may be required. The health screening will also reveal if you have a rare blood type. “If we detect an issue with your vital signs or another health issue, we would direct you to go to a physician at that point to be checked,” DeSimone says. In addition, you’ll be screened for infectious diseases you may be unaware of. This exam might turn up a condition that needs medical attention, such as high blood pressure or a heart arrhythmia like atrial fibrillation. “By going to donate blood, you are getting a mini-physical,” says DeSimone.īefore you are allowed to donate, your vital signs will be checked to make sure you are fit enough for the procedure. Here’s what you get when you give blood: A free health screening While blood donors don’t expect to be rewarded for the act of kindness, rolling up your sleeve comes with some surprising health benefits. The fact that we can store blood and use it when we need it in parts-whether you need the red cells, the plasma, or the platelets-has been a huge medical advance.” “We really need people who want to come and donate. “For as long as medicine has been around, we’ve had to rely on the goodness of other people to give us blood when we need it,” says Sarah Vossoughi, MD, the medical director of apheresis and associate director of transfusion medicine and cellular therapy at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. “Donating blood saves lives,” says Robert DeSimone, MD, director of transfusion medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, who is encouraging people to do their part and make an appointment to donate.
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