While it is absolutely true that patients and their families are given second chances by the priceless gifts of volunteer blood donors, it is also true that the blood donors themselves enjoy many health benefits.

Free Wellness Checkup

Each time you donate, you'll receive a Free Wellness Checkup that includes:

• Blood Pressure Check
• Pulse
• Temperature
• Iron Count
• Cholesterol Screening

Many prospective donors discovered for the first time they had high blood pressure, low iron, or heart arrhythmia during this health screening and then sought medical care. Some of those who went on to donate found they had cholesterol levels exceeding a combined HDL/LDL of 400. 

They donated blood to help others and, as a result, actually helped themselves. Since these biometric measures can change during our lifetime, volunteering to donate blood regularly is a no-cost way to monitor your health.

Giving From the Heart Is Good for Your Heart

Additionally, studies have shown that donating blood can be good for your heart. 

Former OneBlood Medical Director, Dr. Richard Gammon, M.D., wrote “There have been studies published that show blood donors enjoy better health (Transfusion 2007) and blood donation reduces blood pressure (Transfusion 2016) and cholesterol (Am J Epi 1998).”

High blood pressure or hypertension is one of the leading risks for heart attacks and there is evidence that regular blood donations may be beneficial. Being a regular donor may help with blood flow and reduce arterial blockages.

None of us plan on having to receive transfusions, but the reality is 1 in 3 of us will in our lifetime.  

When you donate, you are paying it forward for yourself, your family and your neighbors in need. One of the greatest benefits of being a blood donor is the knowledge that you are making a vital difference in the lives of others when you share your good health.

There are no substitutes for blood. It can’t be manufactured or produced in a laboratory. It has to be given by a person as an act of profound kindness, thus lifting their own spirit.  

It is one of life’s greatest paradoxes that in giving, we receive. As Winston Churchill said, “You make a living by what you get, but a life by what you give.” 

Please make blood donation part of your healthy lifestyle, part of the difference you can make in the world, because giving blood changes lives, starting with your own!