Q. Does donating blood improve health?
A. The periodic removal of a small amount of blood is known to be beneficial in a handful of specific ailments, especially those involving iron overload. Recent studies also suggest but do not prove that regular blood donation may have other benefits, like cutting the risk of strokes, heart attacks or cancer.
A review article published last year in the journal Blood Transfusion discusses the three main therapeutic applications of removing blood, in the diseases hemochromatosis, polycythemia vera and porphyria cutanea tarda.
In hereditary hemochromatosis, there is an abnormal buildup of iron in various organs. In porphyria, a rare metabolic disorder, naturally occurring pigments called porphyrins build up and cause harm, and in polycythemia, there is an abnormal increase in red blood cell mass. In all three, bloodletting can relieve symptoms or lead to remission.
The review article says that blood removal should also be considered as an adjunct therapy in some other diseases, like chronic hepatitis C and sickle cell anemia. As for research and theories involving benefits associated with cardiovascular risk factors, cancer and even Alzheimer’s disease, the authors write that such results are not conclusive but merit further study.
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