Would you donate blood two weeks before a marathon? (Read 105 times)

Our company blood drive is April 24; marathon is May 7.  Negative impact?  I don't generally notice much impact on shorter runs and races within a couple of days. Not so sure about a marathon, however.

From the Red Cross: "How long will it take to replenish the pint of blood I donate? The plasma from your donation is replaced within about 24 hours. Red cells need about four to six weeks for complete replacement. That's why at least eight weeks are required between whole blood donations."

This would suggest potential negative impact; I'd think you'd want all the red blood cells you could get. I can't personally imagine any noticeable effect after a few days. But if it was a goal marathon I had been training heavily for, with an aggressive time goal, I probably wouldn't donate. If that's not the case, I wouldn't worry about it. My purely unscientific guess is that it would be a minor impact vs the whole host of other factors that affect your race day performance.

Absolutely not. I have never tried and never would knowing that I don't have any oxygen carrying capacity to spare. Speaking hypothetically from a laboratory physician's point of view (with lots of blood bank experience), I guess it probably wouldn't hurt you as a man that probably has a decent hemoglobin and ferritin level to start but it surely can impact your performance. Why not wait for two weeks after the marathon and drive on over to your nearest donation center? They will be more than happy to take your blood.

Here you go. You can set up your appointment today and then you will be all set! http://www.ncbb.org/locations%20

You can donate blood anytime, most people just don't have it on their radar so they come to the public through blood drives.

Well, it is a goal race.

^ This is your answer.