Donating Blood and Climbing 14ers

[jasayrevt]

Please donate blood, fellow Colorado mountain climbers. It is such a professional, simple way to kindly help save lives.

[hootenatty]

I do a whole blood donation every 2 months, and I make sure to drink a lot of water and eat a good meal immediately afterward. A few times, I've donated roughly 36 hours before starting a hike at altitude. I have not noticed a difference in my performance that I didn't attribute to something else. I wouldn't choose to donate less than 24 hours before starting a climb/significant hike, personally.

That's anecdata - not a scientific study or anything, and like others have said, everyone's body is different.

[taranichols_02]

I gave plasma regularly twice weekly last year, and I felt the effects from that. Granted I had all my RBCs, but rehydrating was tough for me. I just felt week trying to climb. I still did it, but I just didn't feel good at all doing it. And I cramped a lot easier and super often. Supplementing my water with nuun didn't help, but emergen-c did.

[JimR]

When I was younger, I never noticed any effect donating (whole blood) mid-week & climbing on the following weekend. Now, I notice it for a week or two afterwards. I suspect it's a matter of having had spare (climbing) capacity back in the day.

[bdwyer]

I've done twice monthly platelet donations for 11 years, and sometimes gone out the day after or certainly soon after. I notice no difference. I would think that all nyker said is correct on the whole blood...at least a few days after would be a good idea and you may feel the effects, but it is not going to keep you from doing it. As with all things, eat well and drink a lot of water and "other fluids."
AND DON'T STOP DONATING. It befuddles me, but Colorado is one of the worst states for donations, with less than 4% of the population donating regularly. Some cannot but seems a very low percentage and a horrible status for a healthier state such as ours.

[JChitwood]

There must be a vast range of how this affects someone. Until 1995 I lived in Illinois at 800’ elevation and donated blood once a year at a company sponsored event. Even though I was way younger and fitter, it hit me like a ton of bricks and I could barely walk up one flight of stairs for a week after. I moved to Greeley, elevation 4,700’, at age 35 and the first time I donated there I was out of it for over a month. Couldn’t run or ride a bike, lethargy for weeks on end, a never ending downer. That was the end of my blood donating efforts. Now at 60 living at 7,000 it might take the rest of my life to recover.

[Tornadoman]

I have been donating plasma for the past few months and will regularly exercise the day after (running, exercise bike, etc) and haven't noticed a problem. I can not distinctly recall if I have donated the day before a 13er/14er before.

This past week I did my maximum twice weekly donations on Wednesday and Friday. I don't think I did a particularly great job of hydrating Friday evening or when I got up Saturday. My wife and I drove to Hoosier Pass Saturday morning, where we met a friend met up for an attempt on Hoosier Ridge. The weather was cloudier, colder, and windier than expected and we didn't really stop for food or drinks (I had one small pack of fruit snacks- maybe 70 calories tops, and probably no more than 2 ounces of powerade and no water all hike). We successfully reached the summit and on the descent I started to feel a bit lethargic but nothing too bad. We had descended over all of the bumps and were probably only a mile or so from the car when it really hit me. Nausea, a fairly severe headache, and increasing fatigue. I also seemed to be struggling to keep my snowshoes strapped on properly. I blundered down to the pass behind my partners and fortunately my wife drove us home because driving would have been very difficult. I had to have her pull over in Fairplay so I could throw up, and I basically just rested with my eyes closed until we were in the west side of Denver. From there I gradually improved and drank a lot of water before bed.

Although I can't be certain I think I had AMS caused by dehydration. I imagine both poor hydration while hiking and the lack of fluid in my blood due to the plasma donation were both contributing factors. I certainly intend to continue plasma donations, but intend to be more cognizant of hydration afterward. I also may decide to not donate the day before a high peak.

Note: Please consider donating if you can... I use the time while donating to read/relax, and it really isn't a bad experience. Plus you get paid for plasma donations, and I am setting that money aside as a gear fund!

[peter303]

If I donate blood today. Is it going to drastically impact my ability to do the DeCaLiBro loop on Saturday?
Anybody have experience donating blood and climbing?

Maybe. Donations impact regular activities like daily jogging for few days. But a few weeks for strenuous efforts like running a race.

[jchapell]

I'll add a personal note to not worry about the modest decrease in performance and donate! I'm one of those that has benefited significantly, and will continue to benefit (crohn's disease that results in internal bleeding needing blood transfusions). I'm not an acute life or death car accident victim, but I am very thankful for those who give up some peak energy & performance for a few days on behalf of those who need it.

[Bean]

I've tested on myself over a number of donations by comparing HR levels for the same spin bike endurance workout and it takes me about two weeks before my HR elevation is indistinguishable from noise, though more subjective effects can last a month or so. HIIT-type workouts tend to be less affected. I've also gone out and completely buried myself less than two days after donating, felt fine (considering what I was doing) and the biggest impact was a much longer recovery time.



That aside, donating blood is good for you and good for others, so go do it - just time it so you aren't impacting your athletic endeavors. Twice a year is the sweet spot for ferritin reduction so for me that means December and sometime in early summer, after peak season is wrapped up for the year.

[bergsteigen]

Interesting thread, it’s something I’ve wondered about since we’ve had blood drives at my work. One day I hope to weigh enough to be able to donate. Not joking.

[Flyingfish]

After you donate blood, your plasma will replenish after 24 hours, but you're typically expected to wait at least 6 weeks to rebuild your red blood cell count. This process could take longer at altitude depending on the person:
The length of full hematological adaptation can be approximated by multiplying the altitude in kilometers by 11.4 days. For example, to adapt to 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) of altitude would require 45.6 days.1

I have no idea where you got your calculation from. As far as I know there is no way to estimate or standardize the rate at which RBC are generated. Most people tend to take 30-60 days to fully acclimate when arriving at approximately 7000 feet when coming directly from sea level. So as someone when is already acclimated and has higher levels of serum EPO your should create RBCs much faster.
Of course every person is different.
Source- Masters degree in High Altitude Exercise Physiology