# The human body's ability to adapt is amazing... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 22, 2010, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-human-bodys-ability-to-adapt-is-amazing/565038 "2010-12-22T04:08:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2010, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-human-bodys-ability-to-adapt-is-amazing/565038/1 "2010-12-22T04:08:31Z")
I heard this story from a very good friend a very long time ago. She had a neighbor, an elderly man, who had made it habit for decades to donate blood on a regular basis. I think it was every 6 weeks. He made the donation without fail, it was just part of his life’s routine. Well, there came a time when the blood bank told him they didn’t think he should continue to donate any more because of his age, and after all…decades? He’d done more than his part! A little more than six weeks after his last donation, he began to feel ill. I don’t remember the details of his illness, what the symptoms were, only that he was definitely uncomfortable. And I also don’t remember how long it took to figure out what was wrong, but I remember very well what it was: he had too much blood! His body had so thoroughly adapted to his regular donation that it “assumed” he would be losing a pint of blood at the regular time and produced an extra pint to replace it! Amazing. And of course, he went back to his routine! ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2010, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-human-bodys-ability-to-adapt-is-amazing/565038/2 "2010-12-22T11:22:16Z")
I’m wondering, is there a chance that what he actually had was [hemochromatosis](http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/hemochromatosis/), or excess iron in the blood? The best way to treat it is to take blood out. If this isn’t done, you develop symptoms like joint pain and fatigue. A friend of mine developed it, and was feeling like complete hell until it was diagnosed. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2010, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-human-bodys-ability-to-adapt-is-amazing/565038/3 "2010-12-22T13:23:46Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > I’m wondering, is there a chance that what he actually had was [hemochromatosis](http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/hemochromatosis/), or excess iron in the blood? IIRC, at least here in Canada, I don’t believe they use donations from people with hemochromatosis. The blood collected for bloodletting is discarded. Routine testing that they would have done to his blood post-donation, one would think, would have raised a red flag if the guy had been donating for decades. Edit: It seem that the NIH has actually concluded such blood is safe for donating. So perhaps the ban has been lifted after all. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-human-bodys-ability-to-adapt-is-amazing/565038/4 "2010-12-22T16:33:34Z")
This comes across as one of the dopiest stories I’ve ever heard. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2010, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-human-bodys-ability-to-adapt-is-amazing/565038/5 "2010-12-22T16:36:05Z")
When I read the OP, I think that the problem was that the human body was **not** adapting. You can’t give it credit for taking decades to adapt without criticizing its inability to adapt more quickly. . ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-human-bodys-ability-to-adapt-is-amazing/565038/6 "2010-12-22T18:43:51Z")
> [@Eats\_Crayons](#): > > IIRC, at least here in Canada, I don’t believe they use donations from people with hemochromatosis. The blood collected for bloodletting is discarded. Routine testing that they would have done to his blood post-donation, one would think, would have raised a red flag if the guy had been donating for decades. > > Edit: It seem that the NIH has actually concluded such blood is safe for donating. **So perhaps the ban has been lifted after all**. Not where I am (Massachusetts). My husband has hemochromatosis and goes for routine phlebotomy. They have told him that they cannot use his blood. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-human-bodys-ability-to-adapt-is-amazing/565038/7 "2010-12-23T01:45:05Z")
We need Cecil to answer if this is possible. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-human-bodys-ability-to-adapt-is-amazing/565038/8 "2010-12-23T02:51:52Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > When I read the OP, I think that the problem was that the human body was **not** adapting. > > You can’t give it credit for taking decades to adapt without criticizing its inability to adapt more quickly. > > . I’m just amazed that it adapted to regularly losing blood at all, and if he had no problem stopping his donations, it would indicate that his body had made no adaptation of any kind. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-human-bodys-ability-to-adapt-is-amazing/565038/9 "2010-12-23T03:15:24Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > I’m just amazed that it adapted to regularly losing blood at all, and if he had no problem stopping his donations, it would indicate that his body had made no adaptation of any kind. I’m pretty suspicious of the story to begin with. Is there any evidence that the story is true, or even possible? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-human-bodys-ability-to-adapt-is-amazing/565038/10 "2010-12-23T03:29:59Z")
Because of the probable age of the story, I’m suspecting a misstatement of hemochromatosis. It’s possible that batch-testing of donated blood didn’t turn up that one had a tad too much iron accumulated, and that after he didn’t donate for a while and felt like crap, he was tested and diagnosed. The chain of retellings in the story (diagnosing doctor telling an elderly man, who at some point tells a neighbor, who an unknown period later tells **Stoid** , who a long time later tells us) could easily transmute it from “your blood cells accumulate too much iron, and we only found out after you stopped donating and thus reducing the buildup” to “he built up too much blood because his body was used to donating.” ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-human-bodys-ability-to-adapt-is-amazing/565038/11 "2010-12-23T03:37:33Z")
Except that “you have too much iron in your blood” isn’t a \*\*\*very interesting story to tell anyone in the first place. * * * ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-human-bodys-ability-to-adapt-is-amazing/565038/12 "2010-12-23T03:50:08Z")
Yes, it’s certainly possible - there’s a disorder called Polycythemia, and it would seem that this man’s regular donations triggered his own version of it. > [@](#): > > In this variant, there is uncontrolled production of mature red cells leading to an increase in the red cell mass, resulting in abnormally high hematocrit (Hct) and hemoglobin (Hg). \*\*This causes an increase in blood volume \*\*and viscosity which can lead to complications involving thrombosis, eg heart attack, strokes, or other clotting or bleeding episodes, if not controlled. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-human-bodys-ability-to-adapt-is-amazing/565038/13 "2010-12-23T04:06:39Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Except that “you have too much iron in your blood” isn’t a \*\*\*very interesting story to tell anyone in the first place. > > * * * Maybe the guy just misunderstood what the doctor told him. Or he told someone else who misunderstood and thought it was a more interesting story than it was. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-human-bodys-ability-to-adapt-is-amazing/565038/14 "2010-12-23T04:22:04Z")
The only reason I know that my friend has hemochromatosis is - tada, he told me. He found it interesting to learn why he was exhausted and what a novel and simple treatment it had. I know I’d find it interesting if I was donating blood for years and only later learned that my generosity had unknowingly been making me feel normal for god knows how long. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-human-bodys-ability-to-adapt-is-amazing/565038/15 "2010-12-23T05:07:34Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Yes, it’s certainly possible - there’s a disorder called Polycythemia, and it would seem that this man’s regular donations triggered his own version of it. Is there any evidence that this particular path to Polycythemia has ever been recorded before? Yes, there is a disorder caused by too many red blood cells, and it’s _theoretically possible_ that this gentleman had it, but so far we only have a FOAF story and no medical evidence that blood donation can cause the disorder. You’ve provided some good evidence, but I remain unconvinced that you established a connection. I would rephrase your statement to “We now must try to establish a connection between the blood donation and the Polycythemia, if that is in fact what the gentleman had.” ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-human-bodys-ability-to-adapt-is-amazing/565038/16 "2010-12-23T05:11:47Z")
Yeah, I don’t really see how we can know that his donations triggered it. Couldn’t it just have been a coincidence (that is, even assuming he had that disorder)? ---
**Author:** ![mikews99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@mikews99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikews99)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-human-bodys-ability-to-adapt-is-amazing/565038/17 "2010-12-23T14:57:40Z")
[This story](http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-dwyre-20101124,0,3813454.column) may be the person the OP is referring to. Please note that the person the article profiles had his hemochromatosis diagnosed 35 years ago, which fits with “a very long time ago” as the OP states. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-human-bodys-ability-to-adapt-is-amazing/565038/18 "2010-12-23T15:17:31Z")
> [@mikews99](#): > > [This story](http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-dwyre-20101124,0,3813454.column) may be the person the OP is referring to. Please note that the person the article profiles had his hemochromatosis diagnosed 35 years ago, which fits with “a very long time ago” as the OP states. Great find. If this is the origin of the story you’ll note that the person’s body didn’t adapt in any way; it was just a coincidence that he was doing the treatment for his disease all along. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-human-bodys-ability-to-adapt-is-amazing/565038/19 "2010-12-23T15:56:18Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Is there any evidence that this particular path to Polycythemia has ever been recorded before? Yes, there is a disorder caused by too many red blood cells, and it’s _theoretically possible_ that this gentleman had it, but so far we only have a FOAF story and no medical evidence that blood donation can cause the disorder. > > You’ve provided some good evidence, but I remain unconvinced that you established a connection. I would rephrase your statement to “We now must try to establish a connection between the blood donation and the Polycythemia, if that is in fact what the gentleman had.” All I did was point out that the body is known to be capable of producing excess blood in the presence of the correct amount of blood because someone else said “is it even POSSIBLE?” - hence answering that question in the affirmative. I did not claim that the man my friend knew had that disease, I was merely pointing out that the disease and what happened to the man resulted in the same thing: excess blood. I also told a story told to me by a woman I was very close to who was not in the habit of making things up or getting her facts wrong, and she was told the story by the person who experienced it personally (Here in Los Angeles, by the way, not Milwaukee - the Hollywood Hills, specifically, and it happened prior to 1983, which is when my friend died.) It was an interesting story and there is no reason not to believe it is a true one. Good lord. ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-human-bodys-ability-to-adapt-is-amazing/565038/20 "2010-12-23T16:02:47Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > A little more than six weeks after his last donation, he began to feel ill. I don’t remember the details of his illness, what the symptoms were, only that he was definitely uncomfortable. > > And I also don’t remember how long it took to figure out what was wrong, but I remember very well what it was: he had too much blood! His body had so thoroughly adapted to his regular donation that it \*\*“assumed” he would be losing a pint of blood at the regular time and produced an extra pint to replace it! \*\* I think this is why people are finding the story hard to accept at face value. Homeostatic mechanisms generally can’t work by anticipating a change which hasn’t happened yet. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-human-bodys-ability-to-adapt-is-amazing/565038.md?page=2)