Study proves positive health effects of plasma donation
The prestigious medical journal "Vox Sanguinis" has confirmed a phenomenon that has been known for a long time: plasma donation lowers the level of blood lipids in the plasma. The cholesterol study points to a "blood-purifying" effect of plasma donation; it is known that high blood fats, in particular total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol, together with smoking, lack of exercise, obesity and stress are among the risk factors for vascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke.
- In this study, data from 663 donors from 9 American plasma centres were evaluated in both sexes and the age groups 18 to 69 years.
- First-time donors or donors who donated for the last time 6 months ago were used for the study.
- All donors had to pass the legal selection criteria for plasma donation including routine blood tests.
- The donors had to appear for donation at least once a week for 16 weeks.
- Cholesterol levels were measured before and after the donation. Both the total cholesterol and the "bad" LDL cholesterol showed a significant drop after donation, while the "good" HDL cholesterol remained in the normal range; the drop in values was greater when the baseline cholesterol level was higher (above the normal range).
Overweight, elevated cholesterol and high blood pressure are the bad 3, which are responsible for vascular calcification and the associated high risk of heart attack and stroke. In the case of cholesterol, additional lipid metabolism disorders (triglycerides > 150 mg/dl and HDL < 40 in men and < 50 mg/dl in women) must also be taken into account. Elevated blood pressure is treated with antihypertensive drugs, obesity with diets or medications, some of which have considerable side effects and with lipid-lowering drugs, which are expensive and not without side effects.
Plasma donation can have beneficial effects on high blood pressure
In the January 2015 issue of the prestigious journal "Vox sanguinis" ("the voice of the blood"), a scientific paper from Canada was presented that investigates the effect of plasma donation on blood pressure. In the observation period of 4 months, 666 donors were observed, who appeared for donation between at least 16 and 32 times during this period. In donors with high blood pressure, there was a significant reduction in both systolic (= upper blood pressure value) and diastolic (= lower blood pressure value) blood pressure, while donors with normal blood pressure showed no changes in blood pressure.
These positive changes were observed with a donation frequency of at least one donation within 2 weeks, and with a donation frequency of one donation within more than 2 weeks the positive effects were no longer observed. The reason for the therapeutic effect on blood pressure is assumed to be the drop in concentration of blood pressure-active substances in the plasma during donation; studies are also underway in which high-pressure patients are subjected to plasma donation to treat their condition ("therapeutic plasmapheresis").
In summary, it can be said that plasma donation can help patients with hypertension to reduce their excessive pressure and, as reported in an earlier issue of this newsletter, can also have a beneficial effect on cholesterol levels, which, when coinciding with high blood pressure, is an additional risk factor for cardiovascular disease (stroke, heart attack ...).
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