The Benefits of Regularly Donating Blood

It’s estimated that 6.8 million people donate 13.6 million units of blood every year—yet in January of 2022, the American Red Cross declared their first-ever national blood crisis due to unprecedented shortages stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, hospitals were forced to make difficult decisions about who can receive the care they need, and who must wait. That shortage continues into 2023.

Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. requires a blood donation due to surgery, a traumatic injury, cancer treatment, a chronic illness, or other medical need. A single donation can save multiple lives, and through the generosity of regular blood donors, medical institutions can provide much-needed care.

If you are able to donate, we encourage you to find a blood drive to help save lives.

The Benefits of Regular Blood Donations

Besides the saving of lives, regular blood donations also provide several health benefits to donors themselves:

1. Free health screenings, which can reveal potential health issues:
   Before someone donates blood, they receive a mini-physical to ensure that their pulse, hemoglobin, blood pressure, and other vitals are normal. In some cases, donors have even saved their own lives by catching health concerns before they became worse.
2. Lower risk of a heart attack:
   In a 1998 study, the American Journal of Epidemiology discovered that donating blood reduces dangerously-high body iron stores and improves blood flow. By donating blood at least once a year, you could reduce your risk of a heart attack by up to 88 percent.
3. Reduced risk of developing cancer:
   Studies have also found that lowering blood iron levels by donating blood can also reduce the risk of developing cancer.

Real-Time Monitoring for Blood and Blood Products

Due to the life-saving nature and short shelf life of blood, it’s essential that blood and platelet donations are stored and managed properly through real-time temperature monitoring, which ensures the highest level of quality care from medical institutions that sustain life.

Guardian was designed specifically to meet the critical needs of blood banks, giving complete assurance and peace of mind through a wide range of monitoring applications. Guardian helps ensure that safe temperature levels of blood is maintained, removing any worry of it becoming unusable.

At Isensix, we are proud to not only donate blood on occasion, but also play a vital role in the storage and monitoring of blood after it has been donated. We encourage you to donate blood during this period of blood shortages. Between all our donations and Guardian’s protection of that blood, we can help ensure that the lives of many can be saved and sustained.