<p>My son is scheduled to give blood tomorrow (Thursday) at his school’s blood drive and he’s taking the SAT this Saturday. I can’t really see any reason why he shouldn’t give and all the Red Cross information indicates the body replaces the fluid in 24 hours. But I was wondering if other people have found that it’s not a good idea to do so before an event where you want to be your best.</p>
<p>From the perspective of one who has donated blood for more than 30 years, I say there is nothing to worry about.</p>
<p>It’s never had any effect on me at all that I noticed.</p>
<p>It can’t possibly improve his performance, and it must have some finite risk of harming his performance. Even after air travel (due to low air pressure in the cabin) mental performance is negatively impacted for a day or two. Removing a pint of blood could well have a similar effect.</p>
<p>I think he should give blood the week after the SAT test.</p>
<p>Forty hours should be plenty of time for his body to fully recover. Good luck to your S on Saturday!</p>
<p>Giving blood wipes me out for the entire day to the extent that I can’t even drive myself home and I still feel off the next day. I don’t donate unless it’s on a Friday and I have the weekend off. But this is a regular oddity specific to me. If he has never given blood before and doesn’t know how he’ll react I wouldn’t give before the SAT. If he’s done it before and it’s been no problem I wouldn’t worry. Most people aren’t like me.</p>
<p>Thanks. It does seem, from a google search, that some people feel fatigued for a day or so after donating. Since he’s never donated before, it seems like a good idea to do it another time. Then he’ll know how he feels afterward for the future. He has an exceptionally long and tiring day tomorrow as it is.</p>
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<p>Seems like you should not give blood any longer, there are other safer (in your case) ways to be a good citizen.</p>
<p>I give blood a lot. You need to refrain from strenuous activity for 24 hours (like playing tennis). But taking the SAT 40 hours later shouldn’t be a problem. Just be sure to hydrate and eat well after donating.</p>
<p>Another devoted, regular donor here. I always hydrate and eat well before and after, avoiding strenuous activity following–we have a standing joke in our family that we must go out to eat the evening following donation as preparing dinner is far too strenuous! (Not all, but it IS a good excuse/reward for potentially saving lives!) </p>
<p>I always encourage young people to donate, hoping it becomes a lifelong habit, and my experience has been that they bounce back better than many older people. Forty hours is certainly ample recovery time. Good for him to be willing to help out his fellow man!</p>
<p>I have given over 50 times. He should not plan to work out later that day or go out that night. If he drinks plenty of non-alcoholic fluids before and after and gets a good night’s sleep, he should be fine. I only had a problem once (last time I gave!). I went to a museum afterwards, and felt super lightheaded and sweaty partway through the visit. I sat down for a while and put my head down, then drank some water and ate a small snack. Then I went home and took a nap. I was fine the next day, back to normal.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t do it. Let him give blood AFTER the SAT.</p>
<p>My mom has a bone marrow disease and is dependent on blood transfusions.
I can really tell the difference in her mental powers when her numbers are low–and she improves after a transfusion. (Trouble concentrating /performing mental tasks is a symptom of anemia.)</p>
<p>You can replace fluids quickly, but it takes a while for red blood cells to build up.
I read that for those who experience blood loss (during surgery for example) and do not receive a transfusion, it takes 2-6 weeks to build up the blood cells, and sometimes even longer.</p>
<p>I give blood all the time. As a young kid, he should be just fine. People tend to feel bad after giving blood because of the loss of fluids and sugar levels. I always try to drink 80-96oz of water for the 2-3 days ahead of time as well as eat red meat (I’m female so iron levels can be lower than males, although I’ve never had a problem) and make sure I eat a fueling-breakfast like eggs, oatmeal, or cereal. If he eats again after, he should be just fine.</p>
<p>It’s good your son wants to donate. There’s plenty of chances to donate in college and he can score free swag and a meal AND help save lives! I’m a rare blood type and a universal donor in platelets (AB) so I try to donate all the time. Too bad post-college it’s difficult to arrange because you have to locate a donation center, set up an appt, etc. At college, you’d just walk in as you walked home from class, it was super easy!</p>
<p>Physician here. My biggest problem with donating in college and beyond was the below 100 pulse requirement- I hate needles and would get anxious (and maybe that quick walk up the Union stairs before my courage gave out). Used to tell them to get it over with and I’d be fine. Plenty of fluids take away symptoms, not enough blood loss to matter for those healthy enough to give. Haven’t been able to donate for awhile, darn.</p>
<p>We had him wait. His high school does a blood drive twice a year. There are also plenty of other opportunities conveniently located around here. Although teachers aren’t thrilled that the kids miss a hour of class (it does take time), I think a lot of our students get into the habit of giving at a young age which is great.</p>
<p>I wonder if any physician would like to comment on whether blood doping as used (illegally) in sports would potentially improve SAT performance? Removing your own blood in advance, storing it, then transfusing in a concentrated dose of extra red blood cells can seemingly improve stamina and concentration (as claimed for sports). Maybe it can do the same for a high-stress, stamina-requiring, mental effort such as SAT.</p>
<p>Of course, I think it would be stupid and over-the-top to actually do that. But it seems like the reverse - removing oxygen carrying cells less than 2 days before a 3-4 hour mental marathon would be extremely foolish.</p>
<p>Just imagine - if you have a big game on Saturday morning - one of the most important games of your life, do you give blood on Thursday?</p>
<p>A cup of coffee might help. . .</p>
<p>Physician here. No, it doesn’t seem logical. The brain cells don’t need more oxygen, they need fewer stress hormones interfering. For some surgery with predicted high blood loss removing and transfusing autologous blood is helpful- the body is stimulated in producing red blood cells and red blood cells are returned instead of being lost during the surgery. The body will compensate for decreased red blood cells by increasing the blood flow via a higher heart rate if oxygen demand is not met by the remaining cells, no big deal when body reserves aren’t stressed such as in a mental exercise, but important in physical sports where the body is asked to maximize output. The cost/benefit ratio is probably very high- not just in money but in infection, wrong blood, etc risks. That unit of blood donated, when fluid volume is kept up, is not detrimental for most activities or the rules would be different. Nothing wrong with being on the cautious side, however. Hope the SAT went well.</p>
<p>Thanks, everyone. He felt good about it. A fire alarm went off in the middle of the test, which I think the proctor handled well.</p>
<p>How does one handle a fire alarm going off? Do the kids come back after the alarm and continue on with extended time or are the results invalidated? That’s a mean and nasty trick to pull the alarm during an SAT sitting…</p>