Considering donating blood?

You may believe the benefits of donating blood are just for the recipient. While of course, that is the main reason for donation lesser known are the health benefits it can bestow on the kind person who donates.

Every two seconds someone in the United States requires a blood transfusion. According to the Red Cross, we are currently in a blood shortage in many areas of the US. The need is great, and donations are appreciated more than ever before.

What blood donation does for the person donating

1. Gives you a sense of human connection and accomplishment – helping your fellow human beings in their time of need and the hope that should you ever need it; the blood stores would be there.
2. A free health screening – By donating you get a mini-physical. Height, weight, blood pressure, iron level, pulse, oxygen, temperature, and vital signs. By donating blood, they will tell you if anything seems off and it could potentially find issues that may otherwise go unnoticed.
3. Burns off calories – Approximately 500 calories are burnt during a blood donation. Make sure to take it easy afterward and drink lots of water.
4. Giving blood can reduce potentially dangerous iron stores – One in every two hundred people in the U.S. is affected by a condition called hemochromatosis and most don’t even know it. This is a case where excess iron stores in the blood and causes health issues.
5. Giving blood can lower your risk of heart attack – Donating blood at least once a year could reduce your risk of a heart attack by 88 percent, according to a study conducted by the American Journal of Epidemiology.
6. Giving blood can reduce your risk of cancer – This is especially true if you happen to have hemochromatosis (high iron stores).
7. Blood donation is good for your liver – Your liver works to filter your blood every single day. By giving it a break and creating brand new blood cells it lessens the work your liver needs to accomplish.

Think of a blood donation as the human equivalent of an oil change. It can help your body renew and run better!

If you are healthy, weigh at least 110 lbs., and haven’t donated in the last 8 weeks you are a likely candidate. Blood banks everywhere would love to see you. In Tampa Florida visit One Blood https://www.oneblood.org/ or google search “blood donation near me” to find your local blood bank.

This article has been brought to you by Tampa Cardiology Associates
www.tampacardio.com
813-975-2800.