Original articles  EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOMECHANICS 

The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness 2006 December;46(4):535-9

Copyright © 2006 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Effect of blood donation on maximal oxygen consumption

Birnbaum L., Dahl T., Boone T.

Exercise Physiology Department The College of St. Scholastica Duluth, MN, USA

Aim. This study determined the effect of donating one unit of blood on various physiological parameters associated with a V.O2max test.
Methods. Ten healthy, male subjects (23±4 years, 178±7.6 cm, 74.4±12.3 kg) completed a V.O2max test 24 h before donating one unit of blood (~500 mL) and 24 h after donating blood. The Bruce protocol was used to determine the subjects’ V.O2max. Physiological responses were measured at the end of the V.O2max test. A repeated measures ANOVA was used to determine if there were significant (P<0.05) differences in the subjects’ physiological responses between the V.O2max before and after blood donation.
Results. Significant differences were found in V.O2max (mean±SD, 3.18±0.74 vs 2.87±0.53 L.min-1), cardiac output (Q, 25±5 vs 22.5±3.3 L.min-1), stroke volume (SV, 134±37 vs 121±22 mL.beat-1), delivery of oxygen (DO2, 5±.87 vs 3.97±.68 L.min-1), and hemoglobin concentration (Hb, 153±12 vs 135±16 gm.L-1). No significant changes were observed for heart rate (HR); arteriovenous oxygen difference (a-vO2 diff), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP).
Conclusions. These findings indicate that donating one unit of blood decreased V.O2max due to the decrease in Q, which resulted from the decrease in SV since HR was unchanged. The lower V.O2max along with the decrease in DO2 would be expected to have a negative effect on athletic performance.