Here's another reason to donate blood: it reduces 'forever chemicals' in your body

[muriel_volestrangler]

PFAS – per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances – are nicknamed “forever chemicals” for their ubiquity, persistence and toxicity. They are used in household items including non-stick pans, waterproof fabrics, and microwave popcorn bags, and can contaminate water, air, soil, crops and animal products. They accumulate in the blood, bones and tissues of living things and do not degrade. PFAS impair human immune systems, making us more susceptible to diseases – even those we’ve been vaccinated against. Researchers associate the chemicals with liver disease, obesity, thyroid disorders, and certain cancers, among other health problems. These observations generally pertain to the relatively few PFAS we have researched, including PFOA and PFOS; PFAS belong to a massive family of chemicals, thousands of them unstudied and potentially harmful.
...
A new study published in JAMA Network Open tracked PFAS levels in 285 Australian firefighters, who are regularly exposed to PFAS in firefighting foam and accrue high levels of the chemicals in their bodies. Over a year, one group of firefighters donated plasma every six weeks, another donated blood every 12 weeks, and a third group acted as a control.

“This randomized clinical trial showed that regular blood or plasma donations result in a significant reduction in serum PFAS levels for participants,” the study’s authors wrote. Blood donors reduced their PFAS levels by 10%, and plasma donors reduced theirs by 30%. Both groups maintained their reduction for at least three months post-trial. The study did not explore whether a reduction in PFAS in the blood necessarily leads to better health.

It’s almost ironic: while the $4tn global wellness industry bends over backwards to sell us dubious detox products, there is an accessible, easy, and free way to genuinely rid our bloodstreams of toxins. And blood is always in high demand. The American Red Cross – which supplies 40% of the country’s blood – saw its worst blood shortage in more than a decade this January. Blood donation services have traditionally invoked altruism to attract and retain donors; perhaps donations will increase as people learn that giving blood may be in their self-interest, too. (And in the case of donating plasma, donors are often financially compensated.)

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/may/12/heres-another-reason-to-donate-blood-it-reduces-forever-chemicals-in-your-body

[multigraincracker]

1. Doc says I can return to donating blood again with

my new pacemaker working so well. Now I will, for sure.

Thanks for the article.

[3Hotdogs]

2. That means, if I receive a blood donation, I got his garbage chemicals added to mine?

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. The article does talk about that

On the whole, the principle is "there's far greater benefit from the blood than risk from extra chemicals in it".

[Farmer-Rick]

3. I am careful about who I give my blood to

I give every now and then but it really trips my trigger that many places that take your blood for free turn around and sell it for $219 a unit to the people who are sick and need it.

The Red Cross makes such big bucks off it's sales of donated blood that it's able to pay it's top executives over $700,000 a year.

Here are just some of the top Red Cross executives pay:

$709,164: Gail McGovern, President and CEO
$700,415: Clifford Holtz, COO
$651,238: Shaun Gilmore, Chief Transformation Officer
$642,142: James C Hrouda, President, Biomedical Services
$509,225: Brian Rhoa, CFO
$441,413: John McMaster, President, PHSS
$439,002: Julio Delgado, Analyst V, Investments
$439,921: Paul Sullivan, SVP, Collections
$425,892: Don Herring, Chief Development Officer

They make big buck off your giving. They claim to just recoup costs but are they really? When they pay such big salaries?

It's a commodity just like Alito wants babies in the US to be. Give us your blood, your babies you are forced to birth, and we'll make big bucks off you.

[wackadoo wabbit]

5. This is important information

Thank you for posting it. It really ought to be its own thread.

Where/to whom do you donate your blood?