Bryan Le
3/10/17
Benefits of Blood Donation
A misconception about blood donations is that there are no benefits to the donor and
only to the receiver. This is not entirely accurate, there is a wide range of benefits for both the
donor and the receiver. Health benefits of donating blood provides a tremendous boost to your
health. It reduces the risk of cancer, the risk of damage to your liver and pancreas. Donating
blood also improves your cardiovascular health and reduces the chance of obesity.
The human body needs a certain balance for it to thrive and function well. One of the
benefits of donating blood is that it allows your body to balance your iron levels in your blood
more efficiently. It may appear at first that donating blood makes you more prone to having too
little iron which leads to fatigue, decreased immunity, or iron-deficiency anemia; but having too
much iron in our blood can be detrimental to our health as well. Hemochromatosis is the most
common form of iron overload disease. Too much iron in the blood leads to an iron overload
which is essentially a buildup of extra iron that can damage organs such as the liver, heart,
pancreas, endocrine glands, and joints. By balancing our iron levels that blood donating
provides we can maintain a healthy iron level that our body can optimally perform at.
Another health benefit that donating blood provides for our body is a better blood flow.
Repeated blood donations may help your blood to flow better, possibly helping to limit damage
to the lining of your blood vessels, which should result in fewer arterial blockages.
There is also a psychological benefit to donating blood as well. When we do something
not only for ourselves but for others, our mental health improves because we feel like we are
benefiting society. There is an “altruistic” effect if you will that has been proven that people
who help others live longer. Many donors will feel good that they are giving back to society and
https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/other/blood-donation.html