Blood donation has lots of benefits both for the donor and the recipient. The American Red Cross says that someone in the US needs blood every two seconds, that one donation can save up to three lives. A new study reveals a strange hidden benefit for donors that has never been discussed before.
Researchers found that regular voluntary blood donation reduces the amount of "forever chemicals" in the bloodstream, therefore cleansing the body from these harmful chemicals.
Hidden Benefit of Voluntary Blood Donation on the Donor That No One Talks About
Regular Blood Donation Reduced Forever Chemicals in Blood
Widely used perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are sometimes referred to as forever chemicals because they never degrade. They can be found anywhere, from frying pans to paints, and are linked to obesity, diabetes, and certain types of cancer.
In their study, researchers tested 285 firefighters from the Fire Rescue Victoria in Australia who donated blood and plasma for 12 months. Firefighters are often exposed to PFAS due to the firefighting foam they use and they typically have higher PFAS levels in their blood.
Hematologist Robin Gasiorowski said in a news release that the results of the study show a significant reduction in blood PFAS levels compared to the control group. He noted that plasma donations were more effective than interventions at reducing PFAS because they accounted for a 30% decrease.
It is the first study to look at how blood donation could reduce PFAS levels, showing another benefit of the act aside from simply doing a charity that helps its recipients.
Furthermore, the results show promising data that will serve as a baseline for testing on more diverse groups to see whether particular categories of people at higher risk of forever chemicals benefit the most from the plasma and blood donation.
They discussed the full findings of their study, titled "Effect of Plasma and Blood Donations on Levels of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Firefighters in Australia," in JAMA Network Open.
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Common Benefits of Blood Donation
Donating blood has benefits both on the physical and emotional health of the donor. The Mental Health Foundation reported that doing altruistic acts can reduce stress, improve emotional well-being, help get rid of negative feelings, provide a sense of belongingness, and reduce isolation.
It also serves as a free health checkup because all prospect donors are under a health screening before they can donate. According to Healthline, a medical staff checks the pulse, blood pressure, body temperature, and hemoglobin levels of the person to ensure that they are fit to donate.
This mini health checkup provides excellent insight into the person's health and effectively detects problems that could indicate an underlying health condition or risk factors for certain diseases, such as hepatitis B and C, HIV, West Nile virus, syphilis, and Trypanosoma cruzi.
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