Blood donation is a very noble act and it is very beneficial for the recipient as it gives him a new lease of life. But there are also many donors who do not know that there are also advantages of donating blood. Many people are unaware about the advantages and they also have myths regarding the disadvantages for donating blood.

One unit of blood can save four lives whereas it can just take some days to replace that amount of blood in a healthy person's body. A study report shows that most Americans consume more iron than their body needs which can result in free radical formation if not treated properly. This iron in the blood can be donated and save people's life. The extra iron can ruin cells and tissues and can cause cancer formation. American women who reach menopausal age have the common problem of chronic diseases like heart ailments with over-production of iron. Those who have excess intake of red meat surely suffer from excess iron production in the body, while generally women shed off excess blood through menstruation.

Blood donation reduces the chance of heart diseases because excess iron in blood poses as a threat for heart diseases but donating blood regulates the amount of iron level. The blood cells are replenished by the marrow; hence stimulation of new blood cells generation is done by donation of blood. For all the health freaks, it should be very comforting to know that donating one pint of blood burns 650 calories. It has also been reported that old people in good health have felt invigorated and re-energized by donating blood regularly. One must not be aware of hemochromitosis but it is a genetic disorder which is an iron overload disorder. This improper iron metabolism can lead to organ damage but American Red Cross blood services accept such donors as safe donor as it's a genetic disorder, it won't be harmful to the person receiving blood from such donors.

A regular donor should be aware about some of the facts of blood donation, which can also be known from doctors online. When whole blood is donated, it can help people three ways - donation of red blood cells, platelets and plasma. Across the nation, only 5% of eligible donors donate blood but there is 9% increase in the transfusions nationwide every year. Statistics show that 25 percent or more require blood at least once in the lifetime. Whole blood donation takes around 1 hour and whole blood donors can donate every 56 days. One should know that on an average, hip replacement uses one unit of blood, a heart transplant and a cardiac bypass uses two units and a liver transplant uses 10 units.

It is interesting to know such basic facts about blood donation.