<p>Another physician here. Blood doping for advantage in cognitive testing sounds far fetched; current data show a decrement in cognitive function for anemia, especially for the elderly and ill, but no data exist to show improved cognitive function for supranormal hemoglobin levels.</p>
<p>The brain is a disproportionate consumer of oxygen and glucose:
<p>…, but this study is difficult to interpret since higher oxy-hemoglobin levels could indicate better health. (Testing the same individual before and after bloodletting could answer this question.)</p>
<p>It’s probably better to take the SAT before giving blood.
BTW, why did the HS schedule a blood drive right before an important test date?</p>
<p>Well, I’m not sure, but the blood drive is scheduled by student government, the school and the schedule of the personnel who actually run the blood drive. Since there are several SAT dates throughout the year (they run two blood drives a year) and since not all students are testing each time, I guess they didn’t make that a huge factor in scheduling the date. It does seem silly.</p>
<p>The proctor was certain it was a false alarm. However, the room had an unusual alarm that was extremely painful to listen to and meant to drive people out of the room. He had the kids fold their exam booklets and leave everything, brought them into the hallway where the noise wasn’t so bad and kept an eagle eye on them (no talking, etc.) for the very few minutes it took to shut the noise off. He then brought them back in and they resumed the test. I assume he clocked the time and put the time back in. I was very concerned when I first heard about it that the test scores might end up invalidated, especially since my son felt he did well, but nothing was said at the time. I’ll feel better when the test results are posted though. I think the proctor was thinking on his feet and protected the integrity of the exam well. Had they left the building and been milling around on a playground for 30 minutes, that would have been another story.</p>
<p>So, in hindsight I’m very glad I did not have my son give blood at that time. He gave blood last Thursday, and now almost a week later he is still very sore, very bruised and has trouble using the arm. I have no idea why this is, he says it was kind of a jarring entry of the needle, but I think it would have been bothersome to him on the test.</p>
<p>That’s very unusual. Sounds like he had a REALLY bad stabber. I’d contact the Red Cross and let them know there was a problem–if others have also complained, they may decide to change personnel. Not every nurse/technician is adept at locating veins and placing needles. I was once at a physician’s office where one of the staff tried to draw blood for a test. I have very prominent veins and had never had a problem with blood draws or donations. She stabbed me without success so many times that I finally sent her away and insisted that I be sent to the local lab for the test, where there are pros who draw blood all day long and know what they’re doing.</p>
<p>It is known that blood donation slightly decreases athletic performance. Someone who plays competitive sports may want to donate only during the off season. Whether it decreases intellectual performance (when the body is otherwise not making great demands for blood) does not seem to have been researched much.</p>
<p>I agree that it’s good that you notify whomever is in authority where your S donated. It is indeed unusual to have pain so long after the draw. Unfortunately, due to health issues, I have never been able to donate blood or now even bone marrow. My brother, a doc, donates as often as they will allow him. He is quick and excellent at drawing blood too & has helped in drives tho his profession is ophthamology. :)</p>
<p>I spoke with the Red Cross. The person I spoke with asked very detailed questions and since DS was home sick, we were able to provide detailed answers – a few incidents of numbness and tingling in his hand, some difficulty carrying things with the arm, etc. She thought that the needle probably grazed a nerve and suggested warm compresses. She said if those symptoms persisted after a couple of more days to take him to his physician. (I did also leave a message for his physician, just to be safe.) She did think that the symptoms would fade in the next few weeks. </p>
<p>The lesson learned regarding the original nature of the post is this. DS blithely let them take blood from the hand he uses for writing, so it would have bothered him to use it for four hours two days later. The SAT is a high-stakes test. Even if 99% of the time a person will feel absolutely perfect two days later, why risk being the 1%? I’m glad we erred on the side of caution when he was testing.</p>