Giving Blood to Lower PFAS: Answering the Objections

A lot of people read my post about donating blood or plasma to reduce PFAS. A few of the comments caught my eye.

Comment 1: Aren’t you just handing your PFAS to the person who gets your blood like a hot potato?

Well, the thing is…. Everyone already has PFAS. In the NHANES study, PFAS was detectable in over 97 percent of Americans. The person receiving a transfusion has been carrying these chemicals for decades, just like you.

The math matters too, a unit of plasma is 250 mL, and an adult has roughly 3 liters of plasma. So one unit changes the recipient’s level by only a few percent toward the donor’s level (IF the donor’s level is even higher). We don’t know what happens to fractionated blood products like albumin and immunoglobulins but we do know that blood, plasma and blood products save lives….and the country is short on both. The PFAS drop is a side benefit for the donor. It is not THE reason to give.

Comment 2: So we are back to bloodletting

Well, yes, and it never left. Therapeutic phlebotomy is standard of care for hemochromatosis and polycythemia. The FeAST trial randomized 1,277 patients with peripheral artery disease to iron reduction by phlebotomy. In the youngest patients, under about 61, deaths and heart attacks dropped significantly. Anyone with a high ferritin and most patients with an elevated hemoglobin should be donating blood regularly.

Question 3: What test, and who should get it?

I use the urine triple toxin test from Vibrant labs which reports PFAS, heavy metals and mold mycotoxins.

Sources

PFAS prevalence: CDC National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals, NHANES; PFOS and PFOA detected in more than 97 percent of serum samples.

Plasma donation trial: Gasiorowski R et al. JAMA Netw Open 2022;5(4):e226257. 285 firefighters, 12 months; PFOS fell 2.9 ng/mL with plasma every 6 weeks, 1.1 ng/mL with whole blood every 12 weeks, 0.01 in controls.

Iron reduction and cardiovascular events: Zacharski LR et al. JAMA 2007;297(6):603-610 (FeAST). 1,277 PAD patients randomized to phlebotomy vs control; no overall difference in the primary endpoint; significant reduction in death plus nonfatal MI and stroke in the youngest age tertile.

---

Andrew Rudin, MD is a cardiologist and board-certified cardiac electrophysiologist who takes a natural, root-cause approach to heart health. He sees telehealth patients nationally and internationally through Natural Heart Doctor, and is licensed in Tennessee. He has been quoted as an expert source by Medscape and Men’s Journal, and was profiled in The Village Voice. More at andrewrudinmd.com.

This article is for general education and is not medical advice. It is not a substitute for care from your own physician, and nothing here should be used to start, stop, or change treatment on your own.