lazlo

For those who donate blood, how long do you find it takes you to recover before you can do a hard ride? Like a 60 mile ride with some hills. I'm donating blood Friday morning, and I need to get a good ride in this weekend. I wouldn't do it Saturday, but I'm thinking I should be fine for Sunday morning if I rehydrate and eat well.

caloso

Even after a day, I think you're going to be feeling it on the hills. As you say, eat and drink really well on Saturday and you should be okay, as in you're not likely to be falling off your bike. But you'll feel sluggish, like there's a gear missing.

It's for that reason that I became a platelet donor. They spin out your platelets and plasma and give you most of your red blood cells back.

saywhat?

It takes me a couple of days to get back to normal even when eating well and drinking plenty of fluids after donating. I feel a little sluggish on on the bike until the red blood cell count bounces back.

SSP

It takes your body about 8 weeks to replace all those red blood cells. But, as long as you hydrate well, you can probably go out and ride hard after a day or two...you just won't be as fast.

FWIW, that's one reason I typically only donate blood around Thanksgiving and New Year's - there's generally few races or hard rides on my calendar then.

Asian Sensation

i would give it at least 3 days... but im weak

tissuedigester

Ugh, last yeard I would donate blood and then wonder why I was struggling so much on the hills when I went for a ride 2 days later. It turns out I was borderline anemic before donating - so now I don't donate whole blood anymore.

So with that said, I think how long it takes for you to bounce back depends on where your normal RBC count is at.

The_Spaniard

i get the same, but i donated plasma my last time, and felt allot better the next day, but i didnt react well to the blood being givin back since it was cold, i started gettin light headed and such, which i dont get when i just donate whole blood, but i bet i will get use to it heh.

chingon77

Is it still possible to sell your blood? If it is try that next time because the clowns that suck up the donation out of your veins just turn around and sell it to hospitals and such. Its an old scam the red cross has been doing forever along with the millions of other inhuman evil things these clowns do. Although donating blood is a great gestures its the middle men that screw it up and scam the blood givers.
Why not do what the elites do and keep some of your own blood stored away just in case you'll ever need it.

RacerX99

Last year I donated blood on a Wednesday and then tried to ride a century on Saturday. I say "tried". I did not even think about how much it would affect me. I was ok until around the 60 mile mark when the hills started.

Then it felt like my legs were empty, I finished but it was really slow after that. I know why some people use blood doping for better endurance, now.

Longfemur

Here's the abstract of a study done in 1995:

This study evaluated 10 male cyclists before and after phlebotomy to determine the effect of donation of 1 U of blood on exercise performance. Each subject underwent maximal exercise testing with oxygen consumption measurement at baseline, 2 hours after phlebotomy, 2 days after phlebotomy, and 7 days after phlebotomy. Maximal performance was decreased for at least 1 week. Submaximal performance was unaffected by blood donation. (AM HEART J 1995;130:838-40.)

Don't you think it would be somewhat selfish to not give blood just because you ride a bike? If you're concerned, just don't give any before the big ride.

KirkeIsWaiting

Cheers to you for being a donor.

I think one of the keys is being very well hydrated before you donate.
I do and it helps the phlebotomist in finding and sucessfully using my veins. But for me it seems I feel so much better, just as keeping hydrated any time.

Nerdanel 

I was surprised to learn that the Red Cross charges for blood, although I don't agree it's a scam. But you can get around that by donating at large hospitals where they can use the blood on the premises--Children's Hospital in Los Angeles, for example, has its own donation facility AND they have better cookies.

SqueakyOnion

Biolife is a company that accepts "donations" of blood plasma. They have donation centers all over the country. They also "compensate you for your time", $20 per donation (usually under 1.5 hours), and an extra $10 if you donate twice (the max allowed) in one week, totaling $50 per week if you donate twice, about 3 hours time total.

There's a donation center by UNT's campus in Denton, TX. I "donate" blood plasma usually twice a week. To me, it seems like an easy $200 a month! I get around campus on my 29er unicycle, including going to Biolife. I don't usually ride distances directly after donating, but don't really have any problems provided I hydrate well the night before donating. The most I rode after donating was 10 miles on my unicycle later that afternoon, and I didn't really feel any different, maybe a little more thirsty.

Some people just don't react well to donating plasma or blood. A good friend of mine tried it, and she kept passing out and tweaking out

NOTE: I do actually bicycle, too. I usually just bike on weekends, though am going to try commuting to campus this next semester. Riding the uni around campus is more fun than a bike

Nate, R U ok?

When I ran cross country in high school I remember a couple of guys donating blood and it screwed up the rest of their season. You should be able to handle long rides but if you are biking competitively at all you might want to reconsider donating blood or schedule your donation a long way from any races.

chingon77

$20 for a donation huh. This makes me wonder how much those con artist at the red cross charge for a pint of the free blood they have.

tissuedigester

Actually, I was thinking the same thing. It's pretty easy to schedule donations around race schedules. I stopped donating whole blood until my doctor gives me the okay in regards to my anemia, but I plan on trying to donate platelets or plasma once she does.

But in the long run...saving a life vs. having a really good bike ride....you'd hope saving a life would come first.

neilG

Red cells and whole blood have a shelf life of 42 days so that's not really practical, now is it?

The reason I dug up this old thread is to say that I was talked into doing a double red cell donation yesterday. My wife, who works at the blood bank warned me against it but the interviewer talked me into it. DON'T DO IT. God, I feel like crap today and the easy spin I went on degenerated into a death march. The double red cell donation benefits only the blood bank because they only have to test one unit. If you feel the need to donate, and it IS a good thing, do only one unit at a time.

For those of you who are skeptical about the donation "scam", be aware that collecting, testing and distributing blood is expensive. And, the supply is variable. I doubt anyone is getting fabulously wealthy from it.