Blood For Thals and Vegeterians

Hello Group Members,

I thought of this interesting relation when during Christmas, our group (We meet together every Sunday for prayer and even though we are NOT tied to any religion, you can say we are a group based on Religion and Spirituality) went to make a blood donation. While, we had around 160 plus members in New York area who donated blood in December, I noticed around 50 or so were rejected due to low Iron levels or low Hemoglobin. I am NOT 100% sure, but I think 95% of our group is Vegeterian.

I started to think of a co-relation and wondered if there is a case of being Vegeterian and not having enough Iron. I myself am a vegeterian and it is very difficult for me and my family to maintain our Iron levels as in our food we do NOT have any meat. I know green leafty vegetables like Spinach in our food will help our Iron levels up, but I think because most of our group is Vegeterian, our Iron levels are in the low normal or low

What makes me post this here?
I was wondering if, the blood donated by people like me (who are low normal for Iron levels) be more helpful for Thalassemics who have to undergo Iron Chelation?

Would it be helpful to have people with low normal Iron donate blood for thalassemics? If that is the case, do doctor's recommend it? I know, it is hard to get blood at some places, so forget about selecting blood donor's but I know in India there was a criteria where thals had to bring their own donor's.

Just a thought, which I had and was wondering if someone has an insight on?

Hi Narendra,

Normal people usually have very low free Iron in their blood so I think it shouldn't matter much.

Hi Narendra
We are pure non-veg ,but still some of us have very low levels of iron. Vegetarians do not get enough vitamin B-12 in their diet and as a result end up being anemic.
Regards
Maha

That's odd

I always thought that it was the heme iron that made the difference. Vegetarians get enough Folic Acid but I didn't know they could get deficient in Vit-B12 if they are getting enough Folic Acid

B-12 is found in dairy products and eggs. If you are strict vegan and don't use any animal products, then you should take a B-12 supplement. If you do get dairy products, then you have a fine source of B-12. Both folic acid and B-12 need to be supplied in adequate amounts, either through diet or supplements. If you take folic acid it can mask the symptoms of pernicious anemia which is caused by B-12 deficiency. Although the anemia may be corrected, the damage done to the nervous system by the B-12 deficiency is not corrected. A B-complex supplement is recommended to prevent either deficiency.

It seems to me that the lower the Hb level of the donor, the less useful that blood is to the recipient. Vegetarians can have a more than adequate Hb and iron level if concentration on an iron rich diet with plenty of B vitamins is practiced. I raised my own hematocrit to the high 40's with a vegatarian diet alone, so it is quite possible.

Hi Narendra,

as far as I know, Thals should get high Hgb blood as this makes sure the blood lasts longer...becoz, the amount of blood given is based on pre-Tx Hgb, desired Hgb post Tx, weight of the person as well as hgb of the blood being received.

Seperately, spinach and other veggies are not a great source of iron to improve Hgb as they are non-heme iron. However, kidney beans and edamame seeds etc are high in protein and iron and iron in them get absorbed better than from spinach. Also, drinking orange juice with meal aids in iron absorption. My daughter's hemo says, she can have any amount of spinach, veggies etc she like but if possible, try to reduce meat to small portions. Again, that is good for overall health not soo much for iron absorption. As she will be on chelation soon, so, we don't have to picky with iron/non-iron containing food.

Hi Andy
I wanted to mention milk and eggs in my previous posts, but Hassan wouldn`t let me. I was sure you would give an excellent explanation as always. In India most vegans do not eat eggs as such ie an omelette or a bulls eye. Eggs are a part of their diet only when it is a part of a cake or biscuits, and no one munches on these on a daily basis. Whereas milk is forced down the throat of children while the adults settle for a cup of tea or coffee.But again everyone is not anemic. I just wanted to point to Narendra that iron may not be the only cause of a low hb.
Regards
MAHA

It seems to me that the lower the Hb level of the donor, the less useful that blood is to the recipient. Vegetarians can have a more than adequate Hb and iron level if concentration on an iron rich diet with plenty of B vitamins is practiced. I raised my own hematocrit to the high 40's with a vegatarian diet alone, so it is quite possible.

My point was more related to the blood for the thals. If the Hb levels of these vegeterian donors is in range (Above 14) and they are low on Iron(as most of the vegeterians might be), would this blood be more useful to thals as it would have less Iron and normal Hb level?

I just was wondering - Won't it make more sense to have blood low in Iron and with normal Hb levels than blood with high iron and normal Hb levels?

I think the answer to this question would depend on what is being transfused. If it is only packed red cells, as is common in the US, I don't think it would make any difference, as the total iron carried by the red cells would be determined by the hemoglobin level of those cells. If it is a whole blood transfusion, as is more common outside the west, then that would include the blood plasma and all the iron contained in the serum, in addition to what is carried by the hemoglobin. In that case, normal Hb, low iron blood, would seem to be a better choice.