Plasma Donation

Jen2 · Sep 2, 2003

Brett,

When I graduated HS and went to MA school, I used to donate plasma. The people who stick at the plasma center are really good since they do it so often, you really don't feel it too bad. The big down side to this is that I have track marks at my anticubital site from doing this and have actually had physicianc ask me If I was an I.V. drug user. Not a bad way to get money at all, it's helping people and your getting some cash for it. It can also be time consuming since you have to go twice a week.

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Sep 2, 2003

I do this to make extra money, it hurt about as bad as donating whole blood. Not to be a horror story-teller here, but the first day i went they had a phlebotomist there who missed my vein by 1/4 an inch , and bruised me all to heck. Used a BP cuff as a tournequet and left it on for a solid 3 minutes, told me "yeah it'll come off in a minute when i'm done (after 4 attempts on my veins)". No it didn't since i'd asked for someone else, since my hand felt close to explosion.

Bottom line, as long as everyone knows what they are doing, it's a cool way to get extra income, and to kill an hour of study time.

renerian, BSN, RN · Sep 2, 2003

I give blood, plasma and platelets but I have never done it for money. I say if your up for it go for it. I can say I have given blood for over 15 years and my antecubs have scars.

renerian

Tilleycs · Sep 2, 2003

I donated plasma while I was in college. It was a good way to get some extra money while I read my English assignments. How the heck do you get $200 for it? When I did it, you got $35/wk if you donated twice that week. I did it a couple of years ago, and they've raised the amounts, but I'm curious about the details of the $200.

To answer your question about the needle, because it's in your arm for so long (because of the cycles required for them to draw whole blood, spin it, and put the red blood cells back - and this has to happen several times), when they pull it out, it HURTS, but not for long.

Is it worth the money? Only you can decide that. You've got to decide that for yourself.

renerian, BSN, RN · Sep 2, 2003

Do be prepared for people to ask you about the scars. I have had employers ask me and I tell them I am an emergency platelet donor as well as a blood/plasma donor.

renerian

OBNurseShelley · Sep 2, 2003

I also used to do it for extra money, got around 40/week if I went twice ina week, never heard of getting 200! It was a bit uncomfortable, and I did get a hematoma one time from a bad stick and I do have scars since I only had one good antecub vein, but it's not that bad.......make sure you drink A LOT OF WATER

angelac1978 · Sep 2, 2003

I used to donate plasma all the time the first time I went through college. Back then, you only got $35/wk if you went twice a week. They have changed the pay scale and they base it more on your weight now. If you weigh over 175lbs, you get $5 extra if you donate the second time in a week. You also get $5 for every referral, and also if you have specific antibodies in your blood like those for RSV you get paid extra. One other thing the plasma center does here is if you donate 8 times in a 4 week period you get an extra $12 on top of whatever else you are paid. So it is possible to get around $200 a month, but you have to weigh more and go twice a week every week.

I also have a scar because I only have one good anticubital. I have only had one person ever comment on it, and this person thought I was a routine whole blood donor.

A

ps, at the plasma center here, if you are a whole blood donor, you can't donate plasma if you've donated whole blood in the last 56 days.

meandragonbrett · Sep 2, 2003

The donation center here pays 20 the first time, and 30 the second time you do it. So that's 50 a week, which is 200 a month. When I called her also said that if I've had the Hep B series, which I have, that they pay more! I still don't know.....I've only got two veins that they could pop a 16g in....all the rest are really tiny ones.

Brett

Mithrah · Sep 3, 2003

I sold my plasma several times while attending college for some extra gas money. At the time I felt it was worth it because I loved the money, but now I wouldn't do it because I don't want the track marks.

It is good advise to drink a lot of water before you go. Plus have a decent size meal beforehand. One time I went and apparently didn't have enough to eat/drink and I ended up passing out. I was standing in line to collect my $10 bill when I blacked out, fell backwards and hit my head on the cold concrete floor. I was okay, just a little embarrased.

wiff0001 · Feb 12, 2005

I'm new to the whole forum thing, and couldn't figure out how to start my own thread. Anyways I'm also curious about donating plasma, and was wondering if I can if I was out of the country (in Mexico) a month ago.

I was turned away from donating blood because of that before, and wondering if it applies to donating plasma.

Thanks

lindsay

Aneroo, LPN · Feb 12, 2005

I too used to donate plasma. I only have one good AC, so after a long time giving, I had to stop...my vein was having issues and I needed to give it a rest. If you do give regularly for a month or so, you can make about $200. That's how they advertise here ($200/month). The staff was awesome. I also found it convenient to take Tums before I went. The material they pump back in with your RBC's can make you lose some calcium, so your lips and fingertips can get tingly. I didn't feel sick if I took the Tums (they had them there, but I'd forget to ask). I wish they had tv's, and they don't let you rest your eyes (so they don't have to try and figure out if you're sleeping or passed out). But, they had warm blankets, and video games. I found it a great time to study with something small (hard to hold a big book with one arm). They had two guages of needles there, but I don't remember what they were. It wasn't that bad. You figured out who was a better stick than others, and you asked for them. Good luck-Andrea