I came across this paper from 2020, and wondered if blood donation and plasma donation (which are free) lead to plasma dilution which we’ll probably have to pay a bunch for
# Plasma dilution improves cognition and attenuates neuroinflammation in old mice
Could also reduce iron build up and stimulate EPO…
Yes, whole blood donation will dilute plasma but only in a small way, taking out 8 to 10 % of plasma. At my local blood bank in Florida, they take several kinds of donations. I participated on whole blood, platelets, and plasma-only. In every case you lose some plasma, but the largest plasma loss is the plasma-only donation, which is 800 mls (about 25% of plasma volume) as I weigh a bit over 175#. The algorithm they use accounts for height and weight and 175# is cutoff for max plasma. Plasma-only can be donated 1x/4 weeks there, although there are centers which deal only in plasma and will allow 2 donations per week if you meet their criteria. Whole blood donations take 450 to 500 mls of which about 55% is plasma. Whole blood cannot be done more that 1x/8wks. Single platelets can be done weekly, and you lose about the same amount of plasma as a whole blood donation, about 270 mls, unless you do platelets plus plasma or double platelets. I am limited to about 13,000 mls per year in plasma whatever kind of donation I make. I’ve settled on alternating between, singe platelet and plasma-only which amounts to almost 1,100 every 4 weeks (800 + 275). I’ve mostly adhered to this during 2022. Platelet donations go to cancer patients and are in high demand in my area. Any donation besides whole blood also takes out 50 mls of whole blood for testing to make sure sample can be used by patients. Due to whole blood donation in 2020 and early 2021 and many other donation types since then my ferritin went very low. I found this out by testing on my own as hemoglobin was always fine. So, if you donate frequently and don’t eat meat, like me, get an iron panel or at least a ferritin annually. On plasma donation, they add back in about 500 mls of saline, no albumin. But even if they didn’t make up some of the volume, your body will make up volume within 48 hours. So, every form of donation dilutes plasma to some extent.
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If you have data on optimum levels of ferritin that would be appreciated. I try to stay just above low end of ref. range and never above 100 ng/ml, but I don’t recall basis for my cutoff as upper end is a lot higher - would have to go back through literature. In any case, I agree that ferritin is one of those things that should get more attention.
[2022] Old plasma dilution reduces human biological age: a clinical study
TPE is still the most beneficial process to reduce biological age. Primary because it also replaces some of your Albumin with young and undamaged Albumin.
[2021] Young and Undamaged rMSA Improves the Healthspan and Lifespan of Mice
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I recommend you read this full thread here, but specifically these posts from Irina Conboy, one of the Leaders in the field:
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Irina explicitly stated that albumin was not the driver in the changes she observed in her experiments and provided evidence, although I would like to see more work done on this. Our livers make about 10 grams of albumin a day, so the only time loss of albumin would be an issue is during very large dilutions and only for a short time. Maybe some transient negative effects. On the other hand, FDA allows plasma-only clinics to take 2 donations a week (25% of plasma volume each donation) with only partial replacement of volume by saline. No albumin. Regular blood banks do not replace albumin either. In my case, when I do plasma donations (800 mls) at my blood bank my albumin goes back to normal level by day 4 or 5.
The second paper on albumin addition to mice is very interesting. Albumin has a half-life of about 3 weeks in humans. If it gets damaged in that time it makes sense that replacing it earlier than the usual turnover rate might be beneficial. It also makes me wonder if, by removing albumin by donation, our liver speeds production of new albumin to reach homeostasis, a situation created in which albumin on average is less damaged than would be the case without donation. In any case, what role albumin plays in the health effects of plasmapheresis for life extension does seem to need more work.
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Hi All: In a conversation with Dr. Kiprov, he assured me that the albumin was not the primary component that provided benefit in his and the Conboy’s TPE trials. He then went on and spent 15 minutes describing how they knew that the albumin utilized in their trials was indeed young. Why so much detailed information if they did not see the relative age of and albumin itself as a beneficial component? It seems that they want to maintain the focus on dilution not albumin for what ever reason, maybe its an IP issue.
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