The number one reason blood donors cite for "rolling up their sleeve" is to help others. But now, there's a new reason to donate. By donating blood on a regular basis, you may be saving your own life.
Doctors and researchers are adding regular blood donations to their list of "healthy habits" and spreading the word that there is no risk to a healthy person to donate blood, but there are significant health benefits. Here are our top five reasons to donate blood for your own health.
5. Receive a mini-physical every eight weeks. The blood bank professionals will check your blood pressure, temperature, and pulse each time you donate, for free!
4. Watch for signs of anemia, or low levels of iron in the blood, which can cause mental and physical fatigue. Before each blood donation, a hemoglobin test will indicate the level of iron in your blood.
3. Feel good in knowing that you saved the lives of up to three local patients. Donors agree that the feeling they experience after donating blood is that of personal satisfaction and altruism.
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2. Keep an eye on the health of your heart with free cholesterol checks performed for blood donors during six months of the year.
1. Reduce your risk for a heart attack. Increased levels of iron in the blood, commonly found in men and postmenopausal women, have been shown to speed up the oxidation of cholesterol in the body, which may lead to cardiovascular disease. Research has found that donating blood just three times per year may lower levels of iron in the blood and reduce risk of a heart attack by more than 50 percent.
For more information on donating blood, contact the Dak-Minn Blood Bank at (701)780-5433 or email blooddonations@altru.org . ||?Page=004 Column=003 Loose,0029.01?||The Dak-Minn Blood Bank is located at Altru Hospital. - Submitted by Dak-Minn Blood Bank.
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