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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

#71

Post by snarf21 »

adamredwoods wrote: post #58

We should be able to test our blood for PFAS on a regular basis and our doctors should be able to let us know if we need to filter our blood. But PFAS testing is not the norm? Per a Tedx talk on this subject: https://www.nrdc.org/experts/anna-reade/pfas-blood-tests-nee... >> Unfortunately, a PFAS blood test is not a routine lab test that can be processed by your local lab and covered by your health insurance. In fact…

We should all get annual blood tests so we can track variance from out baselines.

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

#72

Post by sophacles »

treeman79 wrote: post #15
MiddleEndian wrote: post #4

I shall have my servant bring me my leeches at once!

You say this in jest. But how would one actually get rid of blood if you can’t donate?

Just stop by the barber. Mine has a 2-for-1 deal on thursdays: bloodletting and shave for 2 bits.

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

#74

Post by mensetmanusman »

“Forever chemicals” is kind of a scary marketing term that helps sell ad views.

PFAS materials (teflon, high temperature o-rings, refrigeration fluids, fire-fighting foams, anti-cancer drugs and other medicines, etc.) encompass such a broad range of chemistries (anything with the fluorine atom attached to carbon) that have many many orders of magnitude differences in half-life.

It’s analogous to labeling anything radioactive (bananas) as a “forever chemical” because some radioactive nuclear waste does have >10k year half-lives.

The nice thing about PFAS compared to nuclear though is that even the ‘forever’ versions that have really long half-lives can be easily catalyzed to break down using the right materials/temperature/pressure.

People are looking for catalysis processes to get rid of nuclear waste using atto-second lasers: https://bigthink.com/the-present/laser-nuclear-waste/ (Would be amazing if it works)

Also, fluorine incorporation in water is starting to be reconsidered by some in the medical community (greatest volume of human fluorine consumption by far): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8169995/

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

#75

Post by sschueller »

colechristensen wrote: post #59
np_tedious wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Brings up an interesting question. Say you couldn't donate due to tattoos, needle use from steroids or IV drugs ("have you ever injected anything not prescribed by a doctor"), gay or paid sex, etc Are there services for bloodletting?

It’s not bloodletting but some things do come out in sweat, I remember reading a paper that demonstrated heavy metals come out in sweat in significant amounts. Perhaps other things do as well.

That would mean people who workout a lot should have less than sedatary people.

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

#76

Post by arcticbull »

snarf21 wrote: post #71
adamredwoods wrote: post #58

We should be able to test our blood for PFAS on a regular basis and our doctors should be able to let us know if we need to filter our blood. But PFAS testing is not the norm? Per a Tedx talk on this subject: https://www.nrdc.org/experts/anna-reade/pfas-blood-tests-nee... >> Unfortunately, a PFAS blood test is not a routine lab test that can be processed by your local lab and covered by your health insurance. In fact…

We should all get annual blood tests so we can track variance from out baselines.

Probably not, honestly. For most tests, the risks associated with a false positive outweigh the benefits of marginally earlier detection.

Humans aren't precise machines, each person has different values and different value ranges for standard measurements - and asymptomatic deviations frequently mean nothing whatsoever. On the other hand investigations can be invasive, painful, risky and expensive.

There's a reason most tests aren't recommended for folks outside certain risk categories (age, family history, etc). And in a litigious society like America, it's not because it's expensive. There's some specific diseases where there's a lot of data backing this thesis - certain cancers for instance.

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

#77

Post by tantalor »

CodeWriter23 wrote: post #69
neogodless wrote: post #9

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.”

They're basically saying: "Sure, you're passing the buck, but there's no evidence that your reduction in PFAS results in an increase of PFAS to the recipient. Because we haven't looked." and then calling that "Science".

No, the phrase "there's no evidence" implies an attempt to find out that resulted in no support for the notion.

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

#78

Post by colechristensen »

sschueller wrote: post #75
colechristensen wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s not bloodletting but some things do come out in sweat, I remember reading a paper that demonstrated heavy metals come out in sweat in significant amounts. Perhaps other things do as well.

That would mean people who workout a lot should have less than sedatary people.

This is quite possible, now go write a grant application for a study :)

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

#79

Post by codingdave »

croes wrote: post #32

So we are back to bloodletting?

Yes, just as that is the standard treatment for hemochromatosis. Just because it is the wrong treatment for most things does not mean it has zero therapeutic value in specific circumstances.

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

#80

Post by giantg2 »

skrbjc wrote: post #39
neogodless wrote: post #9

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.”

My guess is that the person who needs blood cares more about getting the blood or plasma than the small amount of PFAS in it, which they likely have already. If this causes more people to donate, it's probably a good thing overall, even if the people doing it are doing so in the hopes of cleansing their own system of these chemicals.

While I generally agree the idea that it's not harmful enough to stop a transfer, I disagree with the basis of the argument.

We could also say that given a choice between death and HIV, the blood recipient would still want the blood.

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