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How often do you donate blood to keep hematocrit levels in a healthy range?

I dont donate anymore. Haven't for years. I became iron deficient from donating regularly. Theres a study out there that says 1 in 5 regular donors are iron deficient. I discovered the low iron from a regular blood test. Mcv, mchc, mch, and rdw were all off suggesting iron deficiency, so I tested ferritin and it was at 14.

As stewie has said, donation centers don't test iron, they test hemoglobin, they just call it iron.

Steroid users fit in a special category. Most normal people with low iron will have low hemoglobin, there is an association there but steroids force the production of red blood cells. As a steroid user, you can have low iron and high hemoglobin/hematocrit. Without proper iron levels, your body might still make rbc's but they won't be good cells and won't carry oxygen through your body like they should.
 
For me, it's still a struggle with high HH. I now went from 54 to 59 after eight weeks of the cycle. This time, even cardio didn't help .... Now I have to go back to TRT and wait for the reduction.
 
I dont donate anymore. Haven't for years. I became iron deficient from donating regularly. Theres a study out there that says 1 in 5 regular donors are iron deficient. I discovered the low iron from a regular blood test. Mcv, mchc, mch, and rdw were all off suggesting iron deficiency, so I tested ferritin and it was at 14.

As stewie has said, donation centers don't test iron, they test hemoglobin, they just call it iron.

Steroid users fit in a special category. Most normal people with low iron will have low hemoglobin, there is an association there but steroids force the production of red blood cells. As a steroid user, you can have low iron and high hemoglobin/hematocrit. Without proper iron levels, your body might still make rbc's but they won't be good cells and won't carry oxygen through your body like they should.

That's the problem with testosterone and other steroids suppressing the iron regulatory peptide hepcidin, while simultaneously raising hemoglobin and hematocrit. Testosterone replacement (or use of high exogenous amounts of test) becomes a balance between trying to keep up low iron and ferritin, while trying to manage hematocrit and hemoglobin so they don't get too high. And too many men have crashed their iron and ferritin through well-intended but counterproductive therapeutic phlebotomies.

My iron and ferritin are on the lower end of the spectrum even with daily iron supplementation, so as long as hematocrit/hemoglobin don't get way too high, I would never consider therapeutic phlebotomy unless it becomes absolutely necessary.


 
I dont donate anymore. Haven't for years. I became iron deficient from donating regularly. Theres a study out there that says 1 in 5 regular donors are iron deficient. I discovered the low iron from a regular blood test. Mcv, mchc, mch, and rdw were all off suggesting iron deficiency, so I tested ferritin and it was at 14.

As stewie has said, donation centers don't test iron, they test hemoglobin, they just call it iron.

Steroid users fit in a special category. Most normal people with low iron will have low hemoglobin, there is an association there but steroids force the production of red blood cells. As a steroid user, you can have low iron and high hemoglobin/hematocrit. Without proper iron levels, your body might still make rbc's but they won't be good cells and won't carry oxygen through your body like they should.

I donated once when my hematocrit was 52 I believe, and it dropped my iron so low. It took maybe 6-8 months to recover
 
Hematocrit is something I tend to be high on. I donate every two months. My last bloodwork was:
Age 56, African-American (obviously)
Legit TRT 140mg/week; dropping to 60mg E3D until I get everything in reference ranges

Creatinine: 1.42*
Cystatin C: 0.83
eGFR: 101 estimated from Cystatin C (if estimated from Creatinine it's low 60's)
RBC: 6.47
Hemoglobin: 17.3 (been as high as 20.0)
Hematocrit: 53.0 (was 58.2 August 2020)
Total Testosterone: 1,110ng/dL
Free Test: 284.5pg/mL (no, really)

* For patients >49 years of age, the reference limit for Creatinine is approximately 13% higher for people identified as African-American, so 1.50 is the reference limit for me.
 
That's the problem with testosterone and other steroids suppressing the iron regulatory peptide hepcidin, while simultaneously raising hemoglobin and hematocrit. Testosterone replacement (or use of high exogenous amounts of test) becomes a balance between trying to keep up low iron and ferritin, while trying to manage hematocrit and hemoglobin so they don't get too high. And too many men have crashed their iron and ferritin through well-intended but counterproductive therapeutic phlebotomies.

My iron and ferritin are on the lower end of the spectrum even with daily iron supplementation, so as long as hematocrit/hemoglobin don't get way too high, I would never consider therapeutic phlebotomy unless it becomes absolutely necessary.


i am in exact same boat. what would you consider the cut off where you would donate? dante seems to think i believe high hematocrit in the absence of high bp, high ferritin, high platelets isn't a problem. would you say one can be safe at 56-58 for 16 weeks on a blast before coming off?

Broderick Chaves also says cardio can help burn up the rbc and hematocrit but typically this affect is seen when returning to baseline trt because now you have a reduction in exogenous hormone driving down your rbc panels and cardio will actually do something to lower it. on cycle cardio can at best keep it from getting worse, but the reduction is seen when you come off and keep doing the cardio to burn up those high rbc h/h values.
 
You guys run around donations and phlebotony as if the holy grail. I just go off for a month and it comes down. God forbid anyone go off for a month.
 
I have had a hell of a time donating lately. I generally run high. Mid 18's to 19s. Even on TRT (100mg every 5 days)and donating every 8 weeks or so. Always very hydrated.

I have been turned away from the Red Cross 4 times in the past month. One day the meter they had said I was 21, next day 20.6, the next day....too high too read. Which is above 25.6! I was thinking "NO WAY"

I went to the doctor, got a full blood work up done. To rule out haemochromotosis.

My hemoglobin was 19.2 and Crit was 57. Iron was fine...everything was actually.

I go to the Red Cross the next day...Test comes in at 20.7

I showed them the lab results from a Medical laboratory...not a table top analyzer. They still turned me away...
 
The madness never ends. We need a sticky thread with an all capitalized title on why most people shouldn't be donating blood.
 
My hematologist gave me an Rx for monthly therapeutic phlebotomies. 1 unit/month because of my polyscythemia. My HCT was 60 when I was first diagnosed. Ugh, I skip often though. My bloodwork every three months is fine, serum ferrin, transferrin saturation I'm told are acceptable. It's not the genetic polyscythemia vera causing the erythrocytosis but non-specific secondary polyscythemia. Secondary to what I have no clue and it wasn't for lack of looking. Probably past steroid abuse + dehydration.

I have to drink a gallon of water per day but I've done up to two gallons and get a therapeutic phlebotomy every couple months. It's all become pretty routine now. I don't take the warfarin but I do take the propranolol 100mg/qd. HCT remains 50-53.

That being said, there seems no reason to throw away your blood if your RBC count HCT/HBG are all normal. I see no point. This has all been discussed at much length.

OTH
 
I have had a hell of a time donating lately. I generally run high. Mid 18's to 19s. Even on TRT (100mg every 5 days)and donating every 8 weeks or so. Always very hydrated.

I have been turned away from the Red Cross 4 times in the past month. One day the meter they had said I was 21, next day 20.6, the next day....too high too read. Which is above 25.6! I was thinking "NO WAY"

I went to the doctor, got a full blood work up done. To rule out haemochromotosis.

My hemoglobin was 19.2 and Crit was 57. Iron was fine...everything was actually.

I go to the Red Cross the next day...Test comes in at 20.7

I showed them the lab results from a Medical laboratory...not a table top analyzer. They still turned me away...

When i got to donate i notice mine is quite a bit higher then getting actual blood panels done.
 
When i got to donate i notice mine is quite a bit higher then getting actual blood panels done.
Could be that their meters need to be calibrated better. I have a meter at home and it was pretty darn close to what I got in lab tests.
 
anyone want to try this guys list of supps to see if it helps: try it out let us know...


genistein???
 
Recently that hematocrit number changed to 13-19 (was 45-55). I dump a hefty pint every 3 months to keep her around 15-16....
 
Was browsing the old intense muscle board the other day and came across this post from Dante which has at least a little to do with this subject (but has nothing to do specifically with donating blood) and thought it might be useful for this thread. This was back from 2015 and don't want to speak for Dante, as he may have changed his tune on some of this stuff, but here was his post from 2015:

DC:

I highly highly highly urge you to try the following

20mg of testosterone subcutaneous in lower ab fat with insulin needle every other day

take 1500-3000mg of IP6 a day
Dramatically lower your red meat intake and make sure you are taking nothing (and I mean nothing) that is fortified with iron...
Either drink a good amount green tea or take green tea capsules every day split in divided dosages 2-3 times a day.

Do daily cardio if you can for 45-60 minutes<---do you know who never has high hemoglobin and hematocrit? Cardio fit athletes don't...FACT....any cardio elite athlete with have lower scale hemoglobin and hematocrit.

Women lose iron in their monthly period...men don't and store iron....iron overload is brutal on your body...(hence why I want you taking phytic acid IP6) to chelate the iron out of your body.

Is there some thing you probably don't want to do here? Lower red meat intake and a lot of cardio? Yea...but do you want to keep on TRT or a lil higher? Then you are going to have to do them......

a lot of literature shows with larger weekly shots that your hematocrit and hemoglobin dramatically rise while small every other day shots keep it more under control

do that plan and test out your H+H.....if it proves out to be 45-52.....hopefully more 45-50.....try out 30mg every other day.....<-----trust me on this...get off the milligram add up method.....steady every other day lower mg injections create levels that human bodies seem to utilize better<---im asking you to trust me on this.

what is the alternative? Getting off.

I think youll see 6 weeks down the road that your gains are even better with 20-30mg every other day than they were with the big 150mg shot once a week
 
Recently that hematocrit number changed to 13-19 (was 45-55). I dump a hefty pint every 3 months to keep her around 15-16....
If you had an HCT of 13-19% you would be dead. Levels in that range would be found on cadavers of people who have bleed to death during open heart surgery.
 
I have never donated blood to lower my hematocrit. I think for many donating regularly causes more issues than it helps over the long run.
 
I have never donated blood to lower my hematocrit. I think for many donating regularly causes more issues than it helps over the long run.
I agree. There is simply no reason to. I do it only bc I medically have to as some of you probably know. I mean, hell, I wouldn't. It actually kind of sucks. Maybe if you accidentally have an over-reaction to oxandrolone or boldenone or some shit but the lab is going to turn you away for HCT out of range anyhow. With me, hell even my blood is greedy. I'm AB+. Which means I'm two things: 1) useless to anyone othe than AB+s and 2) I can take anyone else's blood. If anyone reading this hasn't already, google blood compatibility chart" and see who can give what to who. It's actually pretty interesting. Anyhoo...

With my hematologist, we've reduced my HCT to 50's with therapeutic phlebotomies but I've had to make changes. I have to supplement iron. And I also eat beef and chicken livers. I've been eating liver since I was a boy so... I like em.

It's an unnecessary strain. We're already recovering muscle and NS and CNS. Why add blood too?
 
If you had an HCT of 13-19% you would be dead. Levels in that range would be found on cadavers of people who have bleed to death during open heart surgery.
I go to a Cancer doctor for the phlebotomy. That's the number he uses now? To me 13-19 equals (46-52)... I will ask him when I see him why he uses a different percentage?
 

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