# Does giving blood confer any health benefits on the donor?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-giving-blood-confer-any-health-benefits-on-the-donor/209649>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 26, 2003, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-giving-blood-confer-any-health-benefits-on-the-donor/209649 "2003-10-26T12:14:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\
**Post date:** [October 26, 2003, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-giving-blood-confer-any-health-benefits-on-the-donor/209649/1 "2003-10-26T12:14:19Z")

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Does giving blood on a regular basis confer any health benefits on the donor?

I have this notion that maybe humans (and men particularly) evolved to bleed more often than we actually do in our safe surburban lives, and that a bit of blood loss now and again might actually be good for us. I’m thinking in terms of (for men) reduction of iron concentrations in the blood, and maybe reduction of blood pressure. (There may be other potential benefits not occurring to me.) But I don’t know enough about physiology to know whether this idea holds any water.

Any thoughts? If I go down to the blood bank on a regular basis, am I doing myself any favors, health-wise?

I’m thinking of benefits to men more so than to women since: a) women bleed regularly anyway, and b) in a primitive society, I’m guessing men would have been exposed more often to potentially bleeding-inducing activities such as hunting and warfare, and so might have had a greater evolutionary incentive to develop a physiology adapted to regular blood loss.

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**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\
**Post date:** [October 26, 2003, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-giving-blood-confer-any-health-benefits-on-the-donor/209649/2 "2003-10-26T12:42:08Z")

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I can’t think of any health benefits. But you do get the benefit of your blood being screened for lots of nasty stuff.

The reduction of blood pressure idea went out with leeches.

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**Author:** ![aerodave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@aerodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aerodave)\
**Post date:** [October 26, 2003, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-giving-blood-confer-any-health-benefits-on-the-donor/209649/3 "2003-10-26T13:41:32Z")

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The Master has already addressed this topic…

[http://www.straightdope.com/columns/000428.html](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/000428.html)

I thought the question sounded familiar 🙂

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**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\
**Post date:** [October 26, 2003, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-giving-blood-confer-any-health-benefits-on-the-donor/209649/4 "2003-10-26T17:37:55Z")

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Also, the donated blood costs your body about 1000 calories to replace, meaning you can eat the doughnuts afterwards with no guilt.