We give blood to save someone else’s life. It turns out that this altruistic act could also improve the donor’s health. But they might have to give a lot of blood over time for that effect.
A study screened 217 male volunteer blood donors. The researchers divided the group into two. One cohort had given blood over a hundred times during their lifetimes. The other group had done so less than five times.
Although the study was initiated in part to investigate whether long-term donation had any negative effects on the donors’ blood cells, they discovered an unexpected positive effect. Although both groups showed a good diversity of blood cell types, the frequent donors demonstrated some key differences, according to a study in the journal Blood.
