why can’t people with anemia (not enough iron in blood) get blood transfers from donors who have hemochromatosis (too much iron in blood)?
In: Biology
I take Iron supplements and have received iron infusions in the past. It was for about 6 weeks, every week for a couple of hours a week. I didn’t enjoy it but it made me feel better.
Blood doesn’t seem like the most sustainable source for anemic folks like me when there’s infusions and supplements you can take. Not to mention eating iron rich foods.
It’s less expensive to give iron supplements and if they are not tolerated well then iron infusions can be very helpful. My SO is chronically anaemic and iron supplements of any kind make her very ill so they pump it into her when her iron drops below a certain level.
Short answer – they can and do.
Longer answer – while blood transfusions take care of the acute problem, it’s not a viable long-term solution; it is at best a temporary fix. Now, if the anemia is caused by sudden blood loss following an injury, that’s fine and dandy, there shouldn’t be a lasting issue at that point, but if you have some underlying condition causing the lack of blood iron, that will need to be treated, rather than merely topping up the red blood cells regularly. It can be likened with a serious oil leak in your car; pouring gallon after gallon of oil into it will keep it running, but it won’t fix the problem, and it’ll get ridiculously expensive in the long run for ultimately no benefit.
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