Donating Blood Plasma

michael94

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Ray peat in this clip about the Dog is referring to discarding the blood plasma and replacing with saltwater/saline solution right? Isnt that what happens when plasma is donated

 
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michael94

michael94

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Yeah he said it reduces inflammatory microvesicles
I started listening to the kmud interviews again recently during relaxation time and found it interesting. I mostly came across the idea of whole blood donation on this forum but this example Ray gives is of plasma "donation" not whole blood.
 

goodandevil

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I started listening to the kmud interviews again recently during relaxation time and found it interesting. I mostly came across the idea of whole blood donation on this forum but this example Ray gives is of plasma "donation" not whole blood.
Yeah i think it depends on iron status. He told me whole blood is good for getting rid of excess iron.
 

managing

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I am O+ so whenever I donate they want to do "Double Red Blood Cells".

As I understand it, they are basically removing one pint of plasma but two pints worth of red blood cells. I always say yes, because it seems beneficial to me and to them.

I've always meant to ask this forum for perspective on this.

I go this coming wednesday so any thoughts before then will influence my action possibly.
 
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michael94

michael94

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I am O+ so whenever I donate they want to do "Double Red Blood Cells".

As I understand it, they are basically removing one pint of plasma but two pints worth of red blood cells. I always say yes, because it seems beneficial to me and to them.

I've always meant to ask this forum for perspective on this.

I go this coming wednesday so any thoughts before then will influence my action possibly.
Thinking
 
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Lurker

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From what I’ve read plasma donation is super sketchy. They are for-profit enterprises that don’t have the same standards as the Red Cross. From the donor perspective they will allow more frequent donations than is healthy and use some kind of citrate as an anti-clotting agent that can cause problems. You can make hundreds $$$ per month though.
 
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michael94

michael94

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From what I’ve read plasma donation is super sketchy. They are for-profit enterprises that don’t have the same standards as the Red Cross. From the donor perspective they will allow more frequent donations than is healthy and use some kind of citrate as an anti-clotting agent that can cause problems. You can make hundreds $$$ per month though.
I saw that. I wonder if I can do it through my local hospital or red cross, although the red cross says it wants ab plasma donors on its website. Ive yet to call them.
 

tankasnowgod

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Ray peat in this clip about the Dog is referring to discarding the blood plasma and replacing with saltwater/saline solution right? Isnt that what happens when plasma is donated



Going back to this original quote.... No, this is not very similar to what happens with Plasma donations. With Plasma, they do not take the Red Blood Cells. What Peat is talking about in this clip is replacing whole blood with Saline solution, so it sounds.

When you donate plasma (at least at the place I donate blood at), they replace it with a citrate solution. That's likely different from the saline solution Peat described, and I think Peat has warned against citrate in supplements, so this might not be the best idea.

EDIT- I realize now I was mistaken in the first paragraph. This does sound more like Plasma donation, but the citrate issue is still there.
 
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michael94

michael94

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Going back to this original quote.... No, this is not very similar to what happens with Plasma donations. With Plasma, they do not take the Red Blood Cells. What Peat is talking about in this clip is replacing whole blood with Saline solution, so it sounds.

When you donate plasma (at least at the place I donate blood at), they replace it with a citrate solution. That's likely different from the saline solution Peat described, and I think Peat has warned against citrate in supplements, so this might not be the best idea.

What Ray Peat mentions in this clip is not replacing whole blood with saline solution, although the way he words it is kind of confusing because he says saline solution to "replace" the red blood cells but he is saying the saline solution makesit possible to add to red blood cells back into the body. When he refers to the liquid portion of the blood that is the plasma, so it is just like plasma donation. And you are correct about the citrate solution ... that is the main issue
 

tankasnowgod

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From what I’ve read plasma donation is super sketchy. They are for-profit enterprises that don’t have the same standards as the Red Cross. From the donor perspective they will allow more frequent donations than is healthy and use some kind of citrate as an anti-clotting agent that can cause problems. You can make hundreds $$$ per month though.

Well, first of all....... I don't think all that highly of The Red Cross. They are a very dubious organization, and don't seem to be as well trained as the local hospitals I go to to donate blood.

Not all Plasma Donation centers are For Profit, however. For example, the hospitals I have donated at also do Plasma donations. As far as the frequency, that has been set by law. Whole blood can be done every 8 weeks in the US, Plasma I believe every 6-7 days. So, it doesn't matter where you go to donate, you can donate plasma much more frequently, should you choose to.

The citrate solution part is the biggest issue I can see, other than the time commitment. Whole blood for me takes about 5-10 minutes, and the average is usually about 10-15 or so, for the procedure itself. Plasma I think usually takes 2 hours. Note, this does not include the prep time and screening which they do for any donation.
 

tankasnowgod

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What Ray Peat mentions in this clip is not replacing whole blood with saline solution, although the way he words it is kind of confusing because he says saline solution to "replace" the red blood cells but he is saying the saline solution makesit possible to add to red blood cells back into the body. When he refers to the liquid portion of the blood that is the plasma, so it is just like plasma donation. And you are correct about the citrate solution ... that is the main issue

Correct, I listened again and realized I was mistaken....I edited my original post.

If you have the time to do a plasma donation, you may want to call around to a few centers and see what kind of replacement solutions they offer. You can say that you've have an issue with citrate in supplements, and ask if a straight saline solution is possible.
 
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michael94

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Correct, I listened again and realized I was mistaken....I edited my original post.

If you have the time to do a plasma donation, you may want to call around to a few centers and see what kind of replacement solutions they offer. You can say that you've have an issue with citrate in supplements, and ask if a straight saline solution is possible.

Where I live the Red Cross only accepts plasma donations if you are AB blood type. I am A blood type so I called the other two options which is Octapharm and Biomat Usa. I mentioned that I have an issue with citrate and wondered if it is optional, both said No and explained the process a bit ( which appears to be the same ). The citrate solution is used as an anticoagulant and the amount used varies depending on how much is needed ( done automatically by the machine they say). After this they do give you a sodium/saline solution but the citrate does not appear to be optional because it is built into how their machines work in returning the red blood cells/platelets.

One of the young ladies made it sound as if the blood were not very thick then not much anticoagulant would be used/needed, which if true would offer some recourse in terms of preparation for plasma donation.
 

tankasnowgod

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Where I live the Red Cross only accepts plasma donations if you are AB blood type. I am A blood type so I called the other two options which is Octapharm and Biomat Usa. I mentioned that I have an issue with citrate and wondered if it is optional, both said No and explained the process a bit ( which appears to be the same ). The citrate solution is used as an anticoagulant and the amount used varies depending on how much is needed ( done automatically by the machine they say). After this they do give you a sodium/saline solution but the citrate does not appear to be optional because it is built into how their machines work in returning the red blood cells/platelets.

One of the young ladies made it sound as if the blood were not very thick then not much anticoagulant would be used/needed, which if true would offer some recourse in terms of preparation for plasma donation.

Interesting. If you decide to give it a go, I imagine Vitamin E would be the go to, I believe Aspirin isn't supposed to be used 3 days prior to donating. Bromelain also works as a natural blood thinner.
 

managing

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I've always assumed that donating red blood cells is preferable to plasma because it removes iron. Because I am O+ I get to donate double red platelets. But they do use citrate.

Any opinions about plasma vs rbc?
 

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