Alcohol the night before donating blood?

[dudechiefboss]

So google is giving me some conflicting results about donating blood after a night of drinking. Does alcohol make your blood "un-donatable"?

One interesting result from google: if you drink the day you have donated blood you become very sensitive to the affects of alcohol.

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[Evergrey]

Just call the donation center and ask But don't say it like you're going to do it, but rather "Oh I was just curious, is it possible...?"

 

[Bacchus]

Mass affects alcohol metabolism. You remove the fluid from your body and alcohol's effects increase. There is a reason they warn you to not drink after donation. However, there are no screening questions by the Red Cross about consumption. Just know, you'll be dehydrated and the donation may either be wasted or prolonged. I had a titer done the day after a night of celebratory excess and it took quite some time for the tube to fill.

 

[RedSHIFT]

this scenario would make for an interesting MCAT BIO passage.

 

[SketchsaurusRex]

A better question: Will the person who receives said donated blood feel a buzz?

 

[BBender716]

this scenario would make for an interesting MCAT BIO passage.

god that'd be too interesting to read about for the MCAT

 

[Evergrey]

A better question: Will the person who receives said donated blood feel a buzz?

If the alcohol has metabolized already, my guess would be no, though I'd be interested to know if you could get drunk from someone else's blood!

In regards to the OP, I think it's fine but it will be a lot less pleasant for you mostly due to the aforementioned dehydration. I mean if you had a hangover before giving blood, you're going to have a hell of a hangover after.

 

[ihatewaiting]

Try alcohol the night AFTER donating blood... heh heh.

 

[BBender716]

Try alcohol the night AFTER donating blood... heh heh.

oohhh snap.

For the ultimate party fail:

alcohol + prior blood drive + vicodin. Yeeeeee. + death

 

[jeff0106]

Try alcohol the night AFTER donating blood... heh heh.

If you mean the night of the same day that blood was donated... oh god, worst night of my life. Absolutely terrible and I would not recommend it.

 

[JoshUNCW]

Haha, you can donate blood the day after drinking. It's not an issue. And yeah, if you wanna get drunk off a few beers, try drinking the night you donate lol.

 

[willen101383]

If the alcohol has metabolized already, my guess would be no, though I'd be interested to know if you could get drunk from someone else's blood!

In regards to the OP, I think it's fine but it will be a lot less pleasant for you mostly due to the aforementioned dehydration. I mean if you had a hangover before giving blood, you're going to have a hell of a hangover after.

Since I am a MT and currently do a F ton of blood banking I will share my knowledge on the subject. When you donate a unit of whole blood...it gets split into 3 parts: packed RBCs, plasma, and platelets. The PRBCs contain no plasma....so a pt. getting that unit would not be at any risk for getting any remnants of your alcohol...or acetaldehyde or whatever is left of it.....nor would the patient getting your plts. The only person at risk would be pt. getting the plasma. And chances are if you still stank like alcohol the prescreeners would get ya.

 

[azrael87]

As long you you hydrate yourself after drinking (something recommended to reduce chances of hangover, anyway) and the alcohol isn't still in your system during donation, it shouldn't affect anything.

As for drinking the night immediately following your donation...just know your tolerance is lowered and limit yourself accordingly. I had done this once or twice, aware of my extra-lightweight condition, and I basically just ended up spending less money those nights lol. Still, it's probably not something you should do very often, if at all. If you must, just don't try to drink as much as you normally do

 

[Ableton]

I doubt it would be an issue... most donated blood is filtered and separated into the various individual components anyways (RBCs, platelets, fresh frozen plasma, etc.)

 

[Parts Unknown]

So google is giving me some conflicting results about donating blood after a night of drinking. Does alcohol make your blood "un-donatable"?

Yes, it will. Before donating you have to answer a long (and growing) list of questions about your demographics, travel history, personal habits, etc. One of those questions will ask you have consumed alcohol within the last _ hours. If you answer yes, the unit drawn from you will be flagged and discarded.

As for drinking after donating, I have always felt that is more placebo effect than physiologic. Not that it matters.

 

[Marcus Brody]

I also wonder- if you donate piss drunk, and the blood sits around waiting for a recipient as usual, does the etoh get metabolized at all during that time? I'd think it doesn't, since it needs certain enzymes from the liver, so I guess whomever receives the blood does indeed get drunk.

 

[Bacchus]

Yes, it will. Before donating you have to answer a long (and growing) list of questions about your demographics, travel history, personal habits, etc. One of those questions will ask you have consumed alcohol within the last _ hours. If you answer yes, the unit drawn from you will be flagged and discarded.

As for drinking after donating, I have always felt that is more placebo effect than physiologic. Not that it matters.

Do you know when this question was included? The last time I donated, Summer of '09 it was not included in the questionnaire by the Miller-Keystone Blood Center. The Red Cross didn't ask me either in the Spring of '09.

 

[willen101383]

I also wonder- if you donate piss drunk, and the blood sits around waiting for a recipient as usual, does the etoh get metabolized at all during that time? I'd think it doesn't, since it needs certain enzymes from the liver, so I guess whomever receives the blood does indeed get drunk.

No. As I mentioned above no whole blood sits around waiting for a recipient. It gets seperated into plasma (FFP,cryo), plts, and prbcs. PRBCs are suspended in an anticoagulant/preservative, as are platelets. Neither of these are going to contain ethanol dehydrogenase,acetate dehydrogenase, or whatever. End of story.

 

[Marcus Brody]

No. As I mentioned above no whole blood sits around waiting for a recipient. It gets seperated into plasma (FFP,cryo), plts, and prbcs. PRBCs are suspended in an anticoagulant/preservative, as are platelets. Neither of these are going to contain ethanol dehydrogenase,acetate dehydrogenase, or whatever. End of story.

lies

 

[Parts Unknown]

Do you know when this question was included? The last time I donated, Summer of '09 it was not included in the questionnaire by the Miller-Keystone Blood Center. The Red Cross didn't ask me either in the Spring of '09.

My bad, I should have said "Yes, it can." Donor centers can add additional questions if they choose; I have worked in five of them in different states and they all stipulated no booze within 12 hours of donating (one was 24, actually). But it's not universal.

 

[willen101383]

lies

haha blood bank: the bane of my current existance

 

[skiddoc]

They usually OK your blood donation if you tell them that you drank alcohol to get rid of your septicemia

 

[JoshUNCW]

Yes, it will. Before donating you have to answer a long (and growing) list of questions about your demographics, travel history, personal habits, etc. One of those questions will ask you have consumed alcohol within the last _ hours. If you answer yes, the unit drawn from you will be flagged and discarded.

As for drinking after donating, I have always felt that is more placebo effect than physiologic. Not that it matters.

Not true.

Just gave blood today. The red cross mobile donating center came by my work today (I didn't know before hand). Regardless, I had a few drinks last night. I didn't pass out/die because of donating today.

But the above comment about them asking if you've consumed alcohol within the past ___ hours isn't true. At least not for the red cross questionaire.