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Regular blood donations can reduce “forever chemicals” in the bloodstream: study

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Re: Regular blood donations can reduce “forever chemicals” in the bloodstream: study

#11
I don't like how "toxic forever chemicals in the bloodstream" is a normal thing

Veritasium has a great YouTube video about this: "The Man Who Accidentally Killed The Most People In History"[0]

[0] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV3dnLzthDA

Re: Regular blood donations can reduce “forever chemicals” in the bloodstream: study

#12

Canadian blood services specifically doesn't allow me to donate blood. Admittedly, I fear needles pretty fiercely anyway so it's not something I'm going to be fighting. I find it interesting though that the argument to donate blood is that one's blood might be toxic. That giving away your toxic blood might make your own blood less toxic.

I started donating blood specifically because I have a needle phobia. I'm up to 8 donations now and feeling better about it each time.

Re: Regular blood donations can reduce “forever chemicals” in the bloodstream: study

#13
post #8

Canadian blood services specifically doesn't allow me to donate blood. Admittedly, I fear needles pretty fiercely anyway so it's not something I'm going to be fighting. I find it interesting though that the argument to donate blood is that one's blood might be toxic. That giving away your toxic blood might make your own blood less toxic.

Is there any reason why one couldn’t simply have blood as a kind of treatment? I’d certainly be happy to have blood drawn if it meant lowering blood toxicity I had no other way of treating.

religious Muslims have treatment that is exactly that - blood drawing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupping_therapy#Wet_cupping

Re: Regular blood donations can reduce “forever chemicals” in the bloodstream: study

#16

Donate your perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to those in need! Hmm: > As to the question of what happens to recipients of this blood: “Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances are ubiquitous, and no threshold has been identified that poses an increased risk to recipients of donated blood components.”

By putting "toxic chemicals" in the title along with that sentence in the body, it sure seems like they're trying to have their cake and eat it too with this article. It also lists a bunch of negative things that are associated with PFAS levels. They're toxic, and associated with a bunch of bad things, but don't worry.

> apart from being identified as potentially carcinogenic, PFAS are associated with “low fetal weight, impaired immune response, thyroid function abnormalities, obesity, increased lipid levels, liver function alterations, and, potentially, an increased risk of some malignant neoplasms.”

I suppose that most blood recipients are probably better off with increased PFAS than going without the infusion, but the article sure presents the situation clumsily.

Re: Regular blood donations can reduce “forever chemicals” in the bloodstream: study

#18
post #8

Canadian blood services specifically doesn't allow me to donate blood. Admittedly, I fear needles pretty fiercely anyway so it's not something I'm going to be fighting. I find it interesting though that the argument to donate blood is that one's blood might be toxic. That giving away your toxic blood might make your own blood less toxic.

Is there any reason why one couldn’t simply have blood as a kind of treatment? I’d certainly be happy to have blood drawn if it meant lowering blood toxicity I had no other way of treating.

Therapeutic phlebotomy, basically bloodletting, is a common treatment for hemochromatosis, iron overload. It would make sense as a treatment if you've got too much of a substance in your system, that substance accumulates in your blood, and you're otherwise healthy enough to tolerate the loss of blood periodically. Depending on the substance, there may be other means that are more effective, or less invasive, of course; and if it's an urgent need to reduce the substance, bloodletting would likely be too slow.
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