Before going for blood donation, you must understand how long does it take to recover from double red cell donation? For quick recovery, it is essential to understand the necessary guidelines to follow after blood donation.
Millions of patients around us rely on donated blood and its component to sustain life or maintain health. Red blood cells are an essential component of blood and, each red blood cells consist of hemoglobin. This hemoglobin supplies oxygen to every organ of the body. As we all know, oxygen is vital for life.
Your body consists of 25 trillion RBCs and makes 20 million red cells each second.
Your red blood cells following double red cell donation will take around two months to recover approx. Avoid doing heavy exercise or participating in a marathon after power blood donation. As the number of RBCs will decrease in the body. Your red blood cells carry oxygen which is much needed during running or working out.
What Is Power Blood Donation?
Double red cells donation is also known as power blood donation. The process involves donating two units of red blood cells in a single session. Two packs of red blood cell donation are equal to 400ml RBCs. In double red cell donation, one donates the same amount of red blood cells as are in the four whole blood donations.
People with a specific type of blood group are allowed for double red cells donation. These blood groups are O, A negative, and B negative. For double red cell, donation females should weigh above 150lbs pounds and males above 130lbs pound as Males have a high count of hemoglobin in their body than females.
Before going for donation, make sure you eat a regular meal and have enough fluid intake. For power red cell donation, that is the drawn blood from the vein located in the arm. It is mechanized process blood from your arm will move into the machine. In this machine, blood components are divided.
Two units of red blood cells are collected and, the other blood products securely return to the body mixed with saline into the same vein. You won’t feel dehydrated after this donation because it returns the body fluid to the body, along with extra saline. However, you will require a little bit of rest as you have lost several RBCs.
Power donation is allowed thrice a year and the waiting period for any blood donation after power blood donation is 112 days.
Measures To Take After Double Red Cell Donation
How long does it take to recover from double red cell donation? It takes approximately 60 days to recover.
But for a speedy recovery of RBCs, you will have to focus on eating certain nutrients. For each double red cell donation, you lost around 200mg of iron from the body. Generally, after donation individuals, resume their regular routines after a couple of hours.
However, you should follow a few measures to recover from double red cell donation and learn what to do after donating blood. Some meals can aid speed the recovering process following donating blood. There are also a few activities you should avoid soon after double red cell donation.
Tip#1. Fatigue and dizziness after donation
Following donating RBC donation, several individuals feel tired and dizzy. It is due to a decrease in red blood cell count resulting in a lack of oxygen from the body. One must take rest till they feel better and increase fluid intake. You can take supplements as well.
Tip#2. Recovery from food sources
“After blood donation, what to eat?” you might ask. Iron-containing food items will assist in restoring the levels in the blood. Following are the food items rich in iron; red meat, seafood, beans, dark green leafy vegetables like spinach, peas, iron-rich cereals, pasta, and bread.
One should increase the intake of food that contains Vitamin C, as this vitamin assists in iron absorption from the gut. Vitamin C-containing food items are citrus fruit such as oranges, strawberries, vegetables including broccoli, potatoes, and brussels sprout.
Red blood cell formation requires Vitamin B12 as well. Food sources of Vitamin B are dairy products such as yogurt, milk, and cheese. Leafy vegetables, bananas, oranges, and potatoes are also good sources of this vitamin.
If you want, you can take iron, vitamin C and Vitamin B 12 supplements as well. You must also refrain from smoking and consuming alcohol for the next day.
Tip#3. Refrain from exercising
The quantity of oxygen in your body reduces from the double red cell donation. So, you must refrain from engaging in highly vigorous exercises immediately after donating red blood cells. These exercises include physical labor, cardio workout, and lifting heavy objects.
Experts would recommend restraining from any activities that raise the pulse for a day or two. You should slowly resume your workout and sports in your routine. Gradually introducing your body to these activities again after double red cell donations will assist in avoiding any potential negative impacts.
It’s A Wrap!
After reading this article, you must have gathered all the necessary information about how long does it take to recover from double red cell donation. It will take you approximately 60 days to recover. The key to accelerating your recovery is your daily activities and diet. On the other hand, blood donation is encouraged to save lives. Learn more about this from this article: Why blood donation is important?