Originally Posted by Milt
And what about your female captain flying whilst menstruating?
I think the captain would be suffering from a medical condition or two (or three) if she loses 400 ml in a such short space of time (the time it takes to donate blood, whatever that is, but not very long) through menstruation.
If I remember correctly (correct me if I'm wrong), a flow of over 80 ml over one menstrual period is deemed to be a menorrhagia (that's "heavy menstrual flow"). So if she bled 400 ml even over the course of her period (that is often 3-5 days), she should definitely have herself seen by a doctor.
Women don't bleed much during "that time of the month" in the absence of a medical problem... though, pre-menstrual symptoms in some women can be more of a worry, I think, than the blood flow!