“Quit smoking and normalized my weight.” How donation changed my life for the better

medical PR specialist

“I am 42 years old, of which I have been a regular blood donor for 10 years.

I am a journalist and PR specialist by training, and it so happens that I have been working in the medical field all my life. 20 years ago, at the beginning of my career, I was a spokesperson for a hospital. The clinic had a pediatric oncohematology department, and blood was always needed. But I was refused because I was underweight and smoked.

In 2013, one of my friends was in trouble – he was diagnosed with leukemia, underwent treatment and posted a post on social networks asking for help. I responded, because at that time I had already given up bad habits. A couple of colleagues from work came with me. We came to the hospital where my friend was lying and donated blood for him.

The process of blood donation did not cause me any unpleasant sensations either during or after the donation. There was also an oncohematology department attached to that hospital. So I thought I would go back there. We worked nearby and started coming to the department regularly to donate blood. That’s how I got involved.

In 2016, I joined the register of potential bone marrow donors and hope that I will be able to help someone one day. During the covida period, when activity in the city was at a standstill, I was called for donations several times.

Being a donor means taking responsibility for your health.

When I visit doctors, I often check whether the treatment I receive will affect my regular donations. I should have a good, sufficient hemoglobin level at all times, and I was anemic as a child.

Regular blood exchange plus a sufficiently maintained hemoglobin level got rid of it. I believe that being a donor has helped me to cope with the disease, because I monitor my diet and health, biochemistry and clinical blood counts. I quit smoking a long time ago, I do sports, although my weight still does not exceed 55 kg – this, by the way, is the lower mark of the minimum weight possible for a blood donor.

Every time a donor comes to donate blood, he is given a rapid blood test from the finger for hemoglobin level. A reading below 120 is a reason for refusal. The doctor will not allow the donation and send home to eat liver and take iron preparations.

There are no ailments and dizziness during donation, but there is a feeling of lightness, euphoria and joy, probably all donors have it, and for the sake of it a person comes to the blood transfusion station again and again.

This year I applied for the “Honorary Donor of St. Petersburg” badge. It is awarded to donors whose number of blood donations has exceeded 20. However, I am not going to stop at this stage, I will continue to donate blood as long as my age and health allow.

Doctor’s opinion

Rustem Sadykov

Candidate of Medical Sciences, clinical pharmacologist, head of AlfaBiom company

“Donation is not only a good deed, it is also useful for the donor himself.

First, the donor is constantly being screened. The procedures often include preliminary medical examinations, which allows to assess the state of health or identify potential diseases, even if the person did not know about them before.

After donating blood, the donor’s health is closely monitored, which helps to identify disease problems early and begin treatment. Moreover, regular blood donation helps stimulate hematopoiesis and purification of the body.

Anemia, of course, donation is unlikely to cure. With such an ailment donor and will not be allowed to become a donor. It has many causes, so blood donation can not be called an opportunity for prevention or treatment.

If you have no contraindications and your blood is suitable for this purpose, I recommend that you consider helping people without sacrificing anything.