Blood For Sale? Selling Your Plasma
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Extra Income Selling My Plasma
When I was thinking about what I wanted to write about for my next hub, a thought came to mind that I would share with you how I make some extra monthly income donating my plasma. I make an extra one-hundred to two-hundred and twenty dollars donating my plasma a month.
Video of Basic Procedure
How Do They Take Your Plasma?
Simply put, donating plasma is a lot like donating blood, except that they withdraw your blood, a machine separates the blood and the plasma, and then they inject your blood without the plasma back into your body using the same needle.
The Basics of Donating Plasma
Who Donates Plasma?
I have seen all different kinds of people in the clinics I donate at. I have seen young adults to middle aged. I have seen male and female and every race. I have also witnessed well-dressed people, and very casually dressed people.
Can Anyone Donate Plasma?
No, not everyone is able to donate plasma. For instance, people who are diabetic or have had a stroke in the past would be ineligible. Also, if you have had Botox, had a tattoo or piercing put on your body, or been in jail for 72 hours within 12 months of your appointment you would be disqualified. Gay men, pregnant women or anyone addicted to drugs or alcohol would also not pass the screening process. There are many other factors that would disqualify a person to be a candidate.
How Many Times A Week Can You Donate?
It seems that most places allow you to donate two times in a seven day period. The second visit must be at least 48 hours after the first. There is some variation on these rules from state to state.
How Much Do I Get Paid?
The clinic that I go to pays me $25.00 for my first visit and $30.00 for my second visit every week. Each state and clinic varies, but after doing a little research most clinics pay around $50.00 to $75.00 for two visits a week.
Where Can I Find A Plasma Donation Center?
You can find centers all over U.S and Canada. I think the majority of them are located in big cities and college towns. A search on the Internet can turn up several centers. I have included four popular links to search for a donation center near you.
http://www.donatingplasma.org/search/find.aspx
http://www.biolifeplasma.com/html/center_location/center_location.html
http://www.talecrisplasma.com/4.1.0_centers.aspx
http://internationalbioresources.com/joomla/ibr-plasma-centers.html
Top 3 Reasons Why I Donate Plasma
Extra Cash - I use my extra monthly income to pay for unexpected expenses, a utility bill, or just buying my kids lunch or a special item they wanted.
Helps saves lives - I have been very fortunate to be healthy and have healthy children, but sadly some people have had a tragedy strike them or their loved ones or are born with a health issue. I get the privilege of helping them to live and hopefully have a fulfilling life. I sacrifice nothing but my time. My body produces plasma very quickly, within 48 hours I have replaced what I have given.
Relaxation - I enjoy reading a good book or kicking back watching a movie on one of their big flat screen TV's while I am donating plasma. I watched Eddie Murphy in "Nutty Professor" last week that is a very funny movie.
A Thank You From People Who Have Benefitted From Plasma Donations
Bottom Line
If you are a healthy adult who has a few hours to spare a week, would like to help save a life, and get compensated for your good deed than I would encourage you to visit one of the above links. You can find out more information and a plasma center nearest you.
On the other hand, if you faint or get nauseous at the sight of blood (especially your own), and you love to eat a lot of fatty greasy food, then this will probably not work out for you.Thanks for reading.
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Comments
Hey RooBee, it is always great to see your pretty face on my hub. :-) Thank you for your support. I have to admit that I too have had a few not so good experiences with a couple new phlebotomist. I had one bad disconnect, and since I have small veins that sometimes roll I have had the discomfort of having some not so confident phlebotomists stick me in both arms and still no luck. I am grateful that you still receive half payment if they stick you and do not succeed. At least then you didn't have to waste your time, and they do compensate for the bruises! :-)
I am glad to hear that you may give it another try. If you can try to get a male phlebotomist to stick you. I have always had good luck with the males. It must be that their confidence is a little higher? Anyway, I hope I did not discourage anyone from trying to donate. I have only had four not so good donations, which is pretty good averages since I am pretty much a regular donor. :-)
In the UK donating blood is unpaid and so I guess is plasma. I will have to check that out. perhaps a hubs will be the outcome. Interesting hub though and a good way to earn some extra cash.
Sounds like donating plasma is the way to go. $200 sounds better than the juice and cookie you get from donating blood. Do you get tired or anything? Does it weaken your immune system or do you have any problem if you get a cut? I'm guessing it just gets replaced pretty quickly since you can come back after 48 hours. Thanks for the info.
Ouch! I looked it up and the closest one to me is in Maine. I live in MA and it has tons of great hospitals. I'm surprised their isn't a closer one. Oh well.
Way cool WhiKat, now I have a way to take over the world...one body jump at a time. ;)
Hi Ethel, Glad to meet you. Thanks for checking out my hub and the nice comment. Here is the U.S you did not get paid to donate blood, but you do to donate plasma. It must be that it is a little more time consuming and more of a process to donate plasma than blood. I don't think they actually pay for your plasma, I think they just reimburse you for your time.
I would definitely look into your area to see if it is the same situation. Good luck and thank you for visiting.
Hey Jim 10, it is great to see you! I don't have to many after effects after donating. I think that if you eat before donating, and drink alot of water and eat something with protein after donating you will feel fine. I try to drink plenty of fluids before donating. I was a little tired my first couple times, but now it seems I have more energy after donating than I do on the days in between. I have never had a problem if I cut myself, but I do know that if you have a bad cut, they do not let you donate until you have healed. I have also learned that it has strengthened my veins. :-)
I sure am glad you stopped by and feel free to ask any questions you have.:-)
Hi ya lxxy, I always love having you visit. I think it would be very cool to have you take over the world one body at a time(what a wonderful world that would be!) :-)
Hey Jim, You might want to call one of those hospitals, they may know a close location of where you could donate plasma. Maybe there is a chance that one of the hospitals take donations? I know the red cross takes plasma, but I do not think they pay for it.:(
I will keep searching for you. :-)
Thanks Whikat.
Yikes! Beware if you see lxxy in the lobby when you go donate!! :)
I thought back and realized I didn't mean to discourage anyone with my comment either!! It is such a good thing to do - mutually beneficial to both donor & recipient. Oh, and I have had better luck with male phlebs too! I try to find a guy or a particularly strong-looking lass now. :) ps..thx Whikat :D:D
Hey RooBee, LOL, I don't think we have to worry about lxxy. I am pretty sure he does not take over an unwilling body.
I don't think you discouraged anybody. If anything, you probably just recruited a whole bunch of men to donate, hoping they would run into you or someone who looks like you at a donation center. :-)
Wow - didn't know about this. Interesting that they inject the blood back.
I am definitely a Scaredy Cat though so I don't think I will be doing this anytime soon :D
Hey shibashake always wonderful to see ya. Thanks for stopping by and checking out my hub. I agree it is interesting that they can take your blood, take something out of it, and give you back your blood all in one shot. :-)
LMAO, A dog confessing to a cat that it is a "scaredy cat!" Seriously though, it doesn't hurt, just a couple pinches. A poke in the finger and a poke in the arm and your good to go, if I don't watch them do it, I barely feel the needles at all. Good to see you and thanks for stopping by. :-)
"A dog confessing to a cat that it is a "scaredy cat!" "
ROFL!
Actually my dog is worse than me. Every time he goes to the vet he acts like we are about to kill him. Then when he gets home he doesn't want to have anything to do with us - lol. He howls to the moon as if telling it of the injustices that have been visited upon him.
Always great to visit with one of my favorite cats! :)
This article is great! Thanks so much for sharing! :) I really wanted to give my plasma once, but my veins weren't plump enough! That needle is pretty darn big...and they just didn't have enough pressure to handle it. Bummer. Ohh the kitten picture is sooo cute too! My mom has a cat named Wiccat...not the spelling like yours, but same name. He has a serious c-a-t-itude!!! Do you have any, and what are they like?
Hello wildfremd, it is very nice to meet you. I am sorry things did not work out for you when you tried to donate plasma. I was fortunate enough to get a really experienced phlebotomist who suggested I should drink a lot of water to plump up my veins. That advice did help so that a couple of other phlebotomist could stick me.
It is really cool that your mom has a Wiccat. :-) I do have 2 cats in my home, both male one is 6 months and the other one is the father to the 6 month old. They are both small, soft, and sneaky. But, they are no match for my 6 and 4 year old daughters so they just surrender and let my girls carry them around and play with them like little dolls. We adore the cats they are very affectionate and love to cuddle. Thanks for stopping by and thanks for the compliments. :-)
Bloodletting is one of the most selfless acts one can do for others. Yes, there might be money involved sometimes but it's insignificant if you compare it to the resulting good. Thanks for sharing. Oh btw, I dreamt of you last night. Don't be scared we were just talking - should've written it down because now I forget :D
Wow, up to $200 a month? And you could be saving lives? Never thought about that...thanks for the informative hub!
Hey Cris my lurve so great to see ya! Thanks for visiting and the support. The money is nice but it really does make me feel good knowing that I can help others live :-)
btw, You don't scare me, I see you as one of my Guardian Angels. Don't worry about forgetting the conversation, all my other Angels forget too. :-)
Hi Mamahops great to meet you. Your welcome for the info. I am glad to help. Not only does it feel great to recommend but it feels great to give back to others :-)
I work at The American Red Cross. We have people who donate for free, but there are other agencies in my area who will pay for plasma.
I see nothing wrong with being paid for your plasma. Can we put a price on life? The person receiving the plasma is thankful no matter what it takes to ensure there was the precious gift of life.
Hi Betsy, Thank you for visiting. I think anyone who works to save other peoples lives are heroes. :-) I think it is great when people donate for free, but I like that the people who make the medicine with the plasma in it, are willing to share their cut of the cost to promote more people into donating. Thanks for stopping by.
I used to donate plasma and I would get 25/40 & 25/45 every wk. You could donate twice a wk and the first donation earned you $25 the second $40. The next wk would be $25 and $45. Your 8th consecutive donation in the month would earn you $10 extra. Unfortunately I was not aware that diabetics could not donate and I was not forthcoming with that information at the beginning. When I explained to them why I was losing weight I mentioned my medication for my type 2 diabetes and that ended my donations. The money was very helpful and I truly miss it. I donated for about 14 donations.
Hi Jethroe3, I appreciate you stopping by and sharing your story. I am a little surprised that you were able to donate 14 times. The place that I donate asks a series of questions and you have to give an honest yes or no answer. One of the questions is have you ever had or do you have diabetes. I had gestational diabetes back in the early 90's which I have to answer yes to that question every single time I donate. I am then always asked if I have been recently tested and they make sure there has been no changes. You are very lucky to have been able to donate for as many times as you did. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.
nice article. god bless you
RooBee says:
5 months ago
Thanks for sharing Whikat. I have donated plasma a few times and think that anyone who can should do it as well. I had one bad experience with needle placement that left me with a gigantic painful bruise and never went back.
Now, though, I'm re-inspired by your hub & think I may just go give again - I'll just make sure to ask for an experienced phlebotomist!!!! :)