Plasma Donations?

Factual Questions
1

There’s a new company around my house with a catchy little radio jingle singing how you can make up to $170 and save a life by donating plasma…

hmmmm. I’m a poor college student…
This intrigues me…

I googled around a little, found some Q&A sites, but there’s still something I don’t get. Why they’re willing to pay you? I’ve never heard of anyone getting paid for donating blood, the most you get from Red Cross is a T-shirt. What makes donating plasma different? (and I don’t mean procedure, I got that: take out blood, separate plasma, put rest back in. I mean what makes it more valuable, seeing as a donation of blood is also a donation of plasma)

Also, the ad says $170 a month. That sounds like a lot. I’m assuming that just for the rarer AB blood types. (I actually have no idea what my blood type is) Any guesses as to other blood types? Or how often you’d have to donate? (One website said you could donate as often as you could donate blood - about 56 days. Another said you could donate up to twice a week. That’s a big difference…)

Is this a good idea? Are there any risks involved? Particular things I should look out for? References I should check? Has anyone else ever done this and want to share their experience? Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!

2

The reason they don’t pay for blood donations is because it could encourage people to lie about bloodborne illnesses. Plasma, OTOH, is sold and processed into other products, so it doesn’t really matter. Thus, they can and do pay you for it.

Since blood cells aren’t donated, your blood type doesn’t matter, AFAIK. I could be wrong on that. I’ve never done it myself.

3

Plus the rare types are actually less useful (arguably) AB blood can only be given to AB people, whereas O can be give to anyone, A can be given to A’s & AB’s and B can be given to A’s & AB’s.

I like being an AB - they can give me anything! The joys of being a universal acceptor

4

I’ve done it (poor college student). They pay pretty well, and usually they give you a larger than usual amount on your 3rd or 4th visit which inflates the monthly payout. They ask a lot of medical questions, take a blood sample, regulate how often you can donate, etc.

Seems reasonably safe, except for the time my IV came out and sprayed my blood all over the place, sadly I’m not joking. Needless to say, they apologized profusely, paid me, and I bolted.

If you can deal with the pride issue and could really use the $50, the rest isn’t so bad. Only takes about an hour or so, and they have TV’s there!

5

Yep, I did this for a while too, back in the very-poor days of yore.

First and foremost, I presume the thought of needles and blood doesn’t disturb you, even if it’s your own? If it does, ya probably wanna think about other options. You’ll get poked a LOT.

They gave me a finger-prick (not a prick-fingering, which would have been much nicer considering the cute attendee I usually made it a point to visit… but I digress) EVERY time I went in. This, presumably, was to test for any number of conditions including diseases. Then of course once they hook you up, it’s with a big needle that stays in your arm for up to an hour.

Despite what they say, it WILL leave a scar, but only a small one. I was very insistant, and managed to ONLY get my left arm stuck. Kept my right elbow scar-free. Dunno why that was important.

Other than that, it’s a relatively pleasant experience. Comfy recliner-chairs to sit in, and they always had a movie going on the TVs. It wasn’t always a GOOD movie, but at least it was something. And I had a book anyway.

The place I went didn’t give any juice and cookies… except in the vending machines.

I think that I got $25 a pop, and that’s because I am large enough they could take the “Jumbo-sized” plasma bottle out of me without causing harm. I offered to try two of the little ones some day, but they didn’t like that idea much.

They set up a schedule for you based on weight health etc etc. Most people can donate (plasma only, whole blood donation is different) up to twice a week. And there were bonuses for donating more often.

Risks? Hmm… if you’re reasonably familiar with sterilization and it’s purpose, and keep a watchful eye on the people with the needles, you won’t have much to worry about. Don’t hesitate to ask questions, they expect it.

Basically they stick you with a needle. Then they attack a tube to it, which goes up into a machine. The machine contains a centrifuge, which separates the plasma from the rest of the blood (primarily red blood cells). A quantity is pumped out of you into the machine, run thru, then the red part is pumped back in thru the same needle. It takes several of these cycles to produce a full ‘batch’ of plasma.

The needle, the plastic tube, and the parts of the machine that the blood contacts, are all supposed to be installed new from packages opened and installed in front of you. No part of the system that touches blood is supposed to be re-used. Ask them to show you the machine the first time, you’ll see how it works, it’s pretty simple. You can actually watch the blood come out of you, get separated, and get pumped back in, with the plasma dripping into a plastic bottle.

One night before I donated I ate a very heavy ‘snack’ of cheese and sausage. There was a distinctly visible difference in the color/quality of my plasma. Eeewwww.

Oh, and there’s an IV bag, but it’s hooked to the same needle that pumps blood in and out of you. They say it contains anticoagulants and water to rehydrate you and prevent blood clots. It can be pretty cold when they pump you full of it, and wearing a sweater doesn’t help at all. Some people find this the most unpleasant part of the whole thing, but I kinda liked it.

As smeghead mentioned, plasma isn’t generally used by itself, but is processed into other products. These, in turn, bring in mighty large profits for the company producing them. So you’re providing a raw material, and they’re buying it off (out of) you.

I hate to think what my $25-worth of plasma went for when processed and sold… but it put food in my mouth, so good enough. :::shrug:::

6

Previous thread 1

Previous thread 2

I said my information and experiences there. In my case, for a year I was able to keep it in the left arm, but eventually had to switch to alternating both arms. Now both of them have scars, but nobody notices them (or mentions them). At my place, sometimes, if they know it will be a busy day or something, they’ll have fruits or cookies or juice for free, plus the vending machines, which sell the stuff cheaper than in other places.

You also get a yearly physical, along with the weekly finger pricks. The pricks are mainly to test your red blood cell and protein levels.

7

Jeez, I pass a plasma house on my way to work every day. I’ve always wondered what the pay was like…but, WHAT stigma are we talking about here?

Sounds like a kinda noble thing–like blood donation–except you get your lunch & beer money for the week.

Is it looked at in the same light as prostitution: my body has something you want, so pay me for it? Or is it just that really desparately poor folks hang out there? From what I gather, hungry students will donate–and students are usually pretty good sources of conversation. Sounds like a win-win to me. What am I missing?

8

In the US, it is traditionally the way that Skid Row alcoholics got booze money, at least in my town.

I did this a lot when I was a young, poverty-stricken Shodan. Easy money - lie there for half an hour and study - ten bucks a pop for the first donation of the week, and fifteen for the second. Needles don’t bother me, and I cared nothing at all for the social disapproval. That’s where I got my recreation budget and about half my food budget.

You do meet a lot of interesting people, but the phlebotomists are friendly to the semi-normal folks who come in to donate. I was trying to date one for the longest time, but never got anywhere.

I have a minor scar on my donation arm, but this was long ago, and I donate blood a lot anyway, even for free now that I have a real job.

Regards,
Shodan

9

Heh… Shodan, yea I tried to date one of the phlebotomists too. And I do that for similar reasons than you did, recreation and food.

And the stigma is kind of hard to take away. Especially if you’re the college student. No one there cares about it, but the people you’re most likely to associate with (being a student) do not approve of it. Of course, most of them don’t know or notice that you do the plasma thing.

10

Hey everybody!

Thanks for the response and the personal accounts. This is exactly what I was looking for… info from others who’ve done it. ** Cheauvan**, this sounds like a win-win situation to me, too. $15-$20 and doing something that’ll help others. I think I’m gonna check it out. :slight_smile:

11

I did it a few times in college. $15 was about average then. It wasn’t a bad experience, and it did feel pretty interesting when they put the cool IV in (they told me it was a glucose drip) and then when they reinjected the red blood cells they were warm.

They were very careful to make sure each donor got his or her own blood back. The thing is the place itself wasn’t exactly cheery, medicinal and clean, but not cheery, and there were a lot of seeminly homeless people there. No problem, since they needed the money, but it was a depressing atmosphere.

12

Go in some day. It’s probably a bit different than you might expect. The center I went to was within walking distance of one of the largest Universities in the nation (OSU), and I don’t recall ever seeing any fellow students there. Most of the people cashed the check at the liquor store across the street, a good portion of the cash never left the store as well. If I hadn’t really needed the money, I wouldn’t have been too keen to hang out there. However, YMMV at your local center.

As for the nobility, I wanted to believe that as well. I kind of doubt that they just give away the plasma they purchased from you to the needy. I think the Red Cross is a better place to make that sort of difference.

At least give it a shot, there’s nothing like being paid for a physical and blood test that usually costs you.

13

Almost forgot, I didn’t end up with a scar…don’t let that deter you. That is all.

14

I tried once, but they told me to go away because my veins are small, deep, and move around. They’re hard to hit

The place I went to was producing clotting factors for hemophiliacs. They gave video and reading material and a long talk. One of the side effects that was possible was a reaction to the anti-clotting material that is added to the plasma and washes back somewhat into your arm. They were using, I think, a citrate. They said that a few people are alergic and of the few that are alergic, some will immediately go into shock and could die.

Wish I could find the place again. My son has large veins and could use the money. Anywhere near Davis, Sacramento or Stockton would work, but I can’t find anthing in the phone book or on the internet.

15

Stigma with plasma donation? Huh?

$160 a month is the average here, at 20 bucks a pop, 2 times a week. They can afford to give you 20 because they turn around and sell your plasma for about 800. Go for it, if you can handle the needle. You’ll be helping other people and $160 mad money a month is nothing to sneeze at when you’re in college. :slight_smile: