Blood donor question.

[Giobbi]

Hi.

Think this question matches this category best. I'm curious about how long the time from giving blood to fully recover is? Are there any pros and cons here? If i give blood and still do some serious traning how would that affect my body/diving capabilities? Teoretically off course.

thx.

p

 

[trux]

This is a frequently discussed topic. Why not looking it up in the archive, and reading some of the existing threads, and posting your question in one of them, if you do not find the available information sufficient?

Here are couple of them, but you may find more if you use the search function:
http://forums.deeperblue.com/general-freediving/82134-effects-blood-donation-breath-hold.html
http://forums.deeperblue.com/freediving-science/83495-generating-new-blood.html
http://forums.deeperblue.com/general-freediving/30271-blood-volume-hemoglobin-level-recovery.html
http://forums.deeperblue.com/general-freediving/80232-giving-blood.html

 

[Giobbi]

Ah, sorry trux, i should have search first. Thanks for replying thou.

 

[Kimmo]

Heh, I have a Hb test kit and I can use it. So after Aarhus WC I can make a blood donation (about 500ml) and I can report measurements results every 3 days until I reach my normal Hb level if somebody is interested. Just inform me

- kimmo

 

[Giobbi]

Please do, very interesting! I will do some testing myself next month. I cant mesure anything thou, just report results and feelings.

 

[Kimmo]

As I promised, I just donated a bit of my blood. First measurements can be seen at: Freediving experience (before and just after)

- kimmo

 

[Kimmo]

Just to inform that some new measurements has been done (Hb after blood donation): Freediving experience

- kimmo

 

[Giobbi]

Great info Kimmo - thx.

What is the time-column?

p

 

[Kimmo]

Hello and thnx for your feedback Gioppi. Time column indicates what time in a day I took the samples.

- kimmo

 

[Giobbi]

Ah, ok. What kind of machine are you using for mesuring hb? Its almost like cheating to have one in possessions..

: )

 

[Kimmo]

Hej Gioppi. I will try to remember to upload a tiny iPhone video about my measurements with the equipment specs ...

- kimmo

ps. you can find your own equipment from the netshops like: http://www.pedihealth.fi/product_catalog.php?c=33 or via good friends like I did

 

[Giobbi]

Pls do! Would love to see!

: )

 

[tuppertn]

Your numbers make perfect sense to me. Your units are g/L, right? Around here most of the time Hgb levels are reported in g/dL so I just had to mentally move the decimal.

When giving a unit of packed red cells (the red cell portion from one unit of donated whole blood) you expect to be able to raise someone's Hgb level by about 1-1.5g/dL (10-15g/L).

Immediately after a donation (or acute hemorrhage), Hgb levels are unchanged because red cells and fluid are lost together (change in overall volume, but no change in concentration). It looks like it took about 4 days for you to replace the plasma portion of the blood and realize a drop in your Hgb level. By inferrence from the above transfusion example, you would expect your Hgb to drop about 15g/L, so 156 down to about 140 or so and you were close enough. Then over a period of 4 weeks you replaced the red cell mass. The minor flucuations along the way are likely due to day-to-day variations in your intravascular volume status.

Loss of a donated unit undoubtedly lowers your oxgygen carrying capacity, but how much effect that has on one's performance probably depends on a lot of factors--the level of exertion, altitude, body mass (both in terms of O2 comsumption and in circulating blood volume). On top of all that I suspect that the more active you are the more quickly you will recover due to greater stimulation to make new red cells.

kendall

 

[Chrillepille]

Very interresting Kimmo!

I donated blood 2 weeks ago and here are my measurements for ten days after (two days are missing, since I didn't go to work on the weekend). All measurements are from capillary blood (from the fingertip) which is much harder to get an accurate reading from, than venous blood. My venous Hb is usually 155-160.

Pre 153
Day1 146
Day2 145
Day3 145
Day4 151
Day7 149
Day8 136
Day9 158
Day10 158

 

[tuppertn]

Very interresting Kimmo!

I donated blood 2 weeks ago and here are my measurements for ten days after (two days are missing, since I didn't go to work on the weekend). All measurements are from capillary blood (from the fingertip) which is much harder to get an accurate reading from, than venous blood. My venous Hb is usually 155-160.

Pre 153
Day1 146
Day2 145
Day3 145
Day4 151
Day7 149
Day8 136
Day9 158
Day10 158

Wow. Was that a full unit donation? You really didn't drop at all.

kendall

 

[Chrillepille]

Yes, that was a full unit (isn't it somewhere around 450ml?). So maybe the pre-reading was a bit on the low side, since it usually is over 155.

 

[Kimmo]

Very interesting comments guys. Yes I used g/l units (I guess many European countries uses these ones). I also guess that Chrillepille´s measurements looks more or less pretty similar as mine. From my measurements I was capable to see that my blood pressure reacted a bit more and for longer period than Hb levels (originally I was not going to check that value but I felt after the donation that my blood pressure remains a bit lower than normal for some days).
I just uploaded a tiny update about the equipment I used for the measurements (now also with video)

- kimmo

 

[Chrillepille]

Forgot to mention that during the ten days after donating I took 200mg Fe per day. Gotta get the iron back for the Bahamas

 

[nickridiculous]

How about if you just donate platelets and plasma? That way you get to keep most of your precious Hb! I did that yesterday. I can't do any testing but I do know that it feels much less physically stressful, and the little cancer babies need platelets.