A cautionary tale, just in case.
When I was involved in the local trans community, I knew a few guys who donated blood to lower their hematocrit. The clinic I was going to at the time considered me to be on the borderline and recommended blood donations. I had such a bad experience with the local blood bank, which already had a record on me from before transition, that I never went back. I was deeply upset at being classified as female and having two blood bank employees discuss my gender status in a crowded room of donors. (Actually, they were discussing how my blood should be labeled--same difference.) I triggered massively.
I have heard, vaguely, through the grapevine, that the blood bank no longer practices the same gendering rules, which were apparently American Red Cross guidelines, because the ARC itself no longer has such policies. But I cannot donate blood for fear of being triggered again. I would rather take my chances. I could probably donate through the Red Cross instead of my local blood bank--the ARC should not have any records on me--but the trigger potential would be the same.
If you are interested in donating and have no prior donation history, you should be fine to give blood; the trans men I knew had no history with the blood bank and had no trouble being classified as male right off the bat. And donating helped them, health-wise. If you have a pre-transition history with the donation center and have a high trigger potential, you might want to call about the current policy before you commit to anything.
