[ZX5chica]

mo_focus,Nov 29 2006, 03:50 PM Wrote:[WOw. thanks so much for the clerification.

So my dad is taking Asprin to thin his blood. Should I recommend the idea of giving blood to him? Maybe this way he doesnt have to take the pills on a daily basis. He is 63 yrs old though.
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Alright, before anybody goes and starts prescribing health problems here, I'm going to clarify certain issues...

1) I'm not a doctor
2) I'm just giving these answers based on 4 years of physiology training and classes... big difference, so please don't go out and change medications/treatments etc.

Having said that... No, you do not want to give blood to your father/have him recieve transfusions. Your father is probably on a low dose aspirin that his doctor recommended because of the protective effect aspirin has on cardiovascular health. Aspirin works to thin blood by not allowing the platelets in your blood to *get together and have a party*, and form what is otherwise known as a blood clot. The anticoagulant (aka. anti-blood platlet chunking) is used to essentially *thin blood* by decreasing the viscosity of the blood so that it moves through your veins and arteries better, and this ability to move better will result in lower blood pressure, and decreased chance of having heart attack, heart problems, etc.

I'm going to stop here, because I can see this going on forever with new questions and such... but, if any of you have any questions regarding how the body works, I would be happy to answer them, but just PM me.