The Vampire aka Donating Blood

See if you can donate platelets instead. The process removes blood from your arm, spins the platelets out, then returns the rest of the blood to your arm. Your platelets regenerate in 3 days, so you'll have your full blood volume back by the time of your race.

I've decided to back up the donation to next week if I can. I'll probably try to go and donate in the name of the company. After talking to another runner he advised me that it will take your body only 24 hours to replace the blood cells, but much longer to replace the oxygen you lose. While I don't know this for a fact, I'll take his word on it for now, and maybe try donating and running some time when I don't have a half marathon to worry about.

24 hours? I don't think so! More like a week, I'd say. And that's assuming you've got the raw materials available (especially iron -- sorry, current obsession of mine) and that you're not doing any hard training at the time, let alone racing.

Definitely a good decision to back off. I've seen recommendations NOT to donate blood within a month of a race (If you want to perform OK, that is), which may be a bit over the top, but sounds about right to me, speaking as a ferritin-challenged individual :)

You should really consider the platelets option. I donate on Monday so that I'm all right by the weekend (I race almost every weekend - 12 so far this year - 40 total last year), but if you don't race that often, the platelet option is still better, because your blood volume is right there, the platelets are regenerated in 3 days and the donations are usually directed towards cancer patients who can't generate platelets because their bone marrow is compromised. There are far fewer platelet donors, too, so you'll be helping your community in a major way. In NYC, there are only about 10,000 platelet donors.

I forgot to say that Simon is right. It's probably even longer than a week. Platelet donors can give every 3 days, but whole blood donors have to wait 56 days between donations. It's a much harder hit on the body. If you're going to give whole blood, schedule the appointment for after your race. And make sure you give your body time to recover after the race, too - you can't give any blood product if your iron level is below 12.5.

yeah.

When you give whole blood don't they seperate it into it's components?

At this point in my very young racing career (3 races total [not counting race for the cure cuz I mostly walked it with a friend] soon to be 4), I believe I won't risk it this week. I'll take care of it next week.

Yes - whole blood is separated into 5 component parts, so one donation can help up to 5 people. Give yourself time to recover from the race before you donate, though. Maybe the following Friday or even the week after that.

Just found this while I was looking for something else (you know how the Net is):

Effects of blood donation on exercise performance in competitive cyclists.

Clinical Investigation
American Heart Journal. 130(4):838-840, October 1995.
Panebianco, Robert A. MD; Stachenfeld, Nina PhD; Coplan, Neil L. MD; Gleim, Gilbert W. PhD

Abstract:
This study evaluated 10 male cyclists before and after phlebotomy to determine the effect of donation of 1 U of blood on exercise performance.Each subject underwent maximal exercise testing with oxygen consumption measurement at baseline, 2 hours after phlebotomy, 2 days after phlebotomy, and 7 days after phlebotomy. Maximal performance was decreased for at least 1 week. Submaximal performance was unaffected by blood donation. (AM HEART J 1995;130:838-40.)

Hi Simon,

I think that says that if you're going all out, you should wait a week, but that if you're going at a regular race pace (not a sprint), your performance shouldn't be affected. Do I have that right? And those results only apply to whole blood donations, right?

Thanks!

Well, I read it a little differently. I guess it depends how you define "maximal exercise". I take that to mean race pace -- not necessarily sprinting. Race pace for me is usually "all out"! In other words, it's fine to give blood as long as you are not planning on racing in the near future. The ideal time to do it would be during a rest week.

I saw some comment -- I think it was from the elite coach Dr Ferrari (and I can't find the link again) -- that seemed to be suggesting that elite athletes should not give blood -- like ever :)

However, I also found this quote and link, which is interesting:

An article from THE PHYSICIAN AND SPORTSMEDICINE said, in part:

"After donating 450 mL (1 U) of whole blood, plasma volume falls 7% to 13%, then recovers within 24 to 48 hours...Marvin Adner, MD, a hematologist and internist in Framingham, Massachusetts, and medical director of the Boston Marathon, says that blood donation should not be a concern for active people who are not world-class athletes -- as long as they are not iron deficient...Donald M. Christie, Jr, MD, an internist and sports physician in Lewiston, Maine, says hydration is the best recovery strategy. Donors need to drink not only what is offered afterward at the blood donation center, they need to aggressively hydrate over the remainder of the day, says Christie, who is an editorial board member of The Physician and Sportsmedicine. "Noting the color of the urine is a good way to gauge hydration status," he says.

He advises endurance athletes to think of the blood donation day as a rest day, and to tread cautiously the next day because hydration stores may not be replenished and delayed vasovagal effects may occur. Christie says though the performance decrement would be slight in an endurance athlete, blood donation should have virtually no effect on strength or short-burst activities."

Again, the suggestion is that if you are world-class/elite -- it could cause you some problems.

Full article here.

I wonder if anyone has tested the effects of platelet donation. That's mostly what I do, though I'll donate whole blood, if there's a shortage. There's always a platelet shortage, but it's a big time commitment, so a lot of people don't/can't.

I hate the fact that I'm choosing to do one thing for myself that has made me question decisions like blood donation which is usually a selfless good act that gives so much back to other people. At least I'm gonna donate next week.

I think I'm still gonna donate even when I'm a world-class/elite runner. ;-)

It's all about balance. You can do both - you just have to figure out the right timing!