re: Blood Donation Questions

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1. It's a couple of miles down the road. Will I have any issues driving myself there and back?

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Shouldn't be a problem, they usually won't let you just jump up and take off encouraging you to hang around a bit to assess any effects (like being dizzy).

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2. Other than the social utility, are there any benefits to donating blood from a health standpoint?

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Donating can lower your hematocrit levels and that can be useful if they're too high. Hematocrit is essentially the viscosity or thickness of your blood, too much can be bad.

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3. Are there any drawbacks or adverse health effects to donating blood?

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On the other hand donating drops your iron levels and too frequently can drop them to the point of leaving you fatigued and other issues. I typically donate no more than once/qtr.