ZenPokerFL t1_jdxj104 wrote on March 27, 2023 at 10:31 PM

Reply to comment by Carbon_Rod in TIL about Lillan Bloodworth, who donated blood every 56 days for nearly 50 years. By the time she stopped at age 85, she had donated 23 gallons. (The average person's body contains about 1.5 gallons.) by WouldbeWanderer

I donate every 8 weeks and my iron levels are usually marginal, around 13.2-13.5 (lowest allowed is 13.0). I’ve started taking a daily iron supplement a few days before my donation date and have a steak for dinner the night before.

Interestingly, when I initially began donating my iron levels were 14+ and have trended down since then. It looks to have stabilized in the low 13s.

Carbon_Rod t1_jdxk7xh wrote on March 27, 2023 at 10:40 PM

I donated every 56 days for years, until I was below 120 two donations in a row, and had to go on iron pills to build up my reserves. Iron pills, for me, are very unpleasant. I space out my donations now to every three months, and I still sometimes am below the minimum.