Everyone knows one of these guys in college. You know, the guy who never has a job nor gets any cash from home and yet somehow manages to afford tuition and books? For me, it was my friend nicknamed - via the misguided use of voice recognition software - Barrel of Carrots. When I first met BoC, I spent a lot of time wondering how he managed to feed himself much less go skiing on an income of $0 (and no scholarship) while I was busting my butt working in a computer lab by day and waitressing at night just to be able to eat something besides Ramen. And then I helped him move. His belongings: one can of beer, a small cardboard box of clothing (with hangers still attached) and a backpack of personal items. So obviously the dude was frugal. "But how do you pay rent?" I puzzled as we made exactly one trip to his car. "You sell drugs or something?"
Giving me his characteristic grin, he answered, "I sell my plasma. Make $600 a month. Easiest money ever."
That was the first time I'd heard of selling your plasma - the yellow liquidy part of your blood packed with antibodies, protiens and other goodies - for money. It came up again tonight in an entirely different setting. While one might expect a self-professed single college slacker guy to resort to selling his bodily fluids for money, tonight's advice was brought to me courtesy of the Church Ladies.
Once a month the ladies at my church get together to learn something new, swap tips, chat and do some community service. Tonight's theme was on living frugally (with everyone bringing clothing donations for a local charity) and one of the suggestions, sandwiched between "use coupons" and "budget with cash" was "sell plasma." I almost fell off my chair. At first glance, it seemed like a bad idea to me. I mean, why am I paying good money for a gym membership and organic produce if I'm going to let someone suck my life juices out of me for $20 a pint?
I leaned over to my friend, "Crazy, right?"
"Like a fox! Where do I sign up?" she replied in all seriousness.
"Do you like needles?" I asked incredulously, thinking perhaps she just has a vampiric interest in getting poked.
"Hate needles," she answered vehemently. "LOVE money."
My friend, being generally not crazy (unless you count her inexplicable fondness for country music), made me think that maybe I'm just being closed minded.
How to Donate* PlasmaAfter searching around the 'net a bit, I discovered that quite a lot of not-homeless and not-druggie people make good money donating plasma. Some people consider it
a part time job. But
how does one do it? First you find a center near you and there are
plenty of helpful internet listings to help you do so. Once there you need to show two forms of ID, scan your fingerprints and get your picture taken. Then you get a physical where you answer a bunch of questions (do you do drugs?), pee in a cup (are there drugs in your system?) and get your finger pricked (nothing to do with drugs.) You also have to do routine stuff like get weighed to determine how much plasma you can donate and get your blood pressure and pulse taken. Pass all of these and you're good to go!
Go to a little room that is and get hooked up to a machine not unlike the one from The Dark Crystal (okay I made that part up) where they extract your blood, run it through a machine to separate the blood from the plasma and then pump the blood back into you. Once finished, you get paid and free to lather, rinse, repeat twice a week for as long as you keep passing the tests.
*I love how everyone calls it "donating" plasma as if you are just doing it out of the kindness of your little blood-pumping heart. I suppose "selling" plasma sounds too gauche.
The Pros to Donating PlasmaLet's be honest, there is one pro: you get paid. Most places seem to pay 30-40$ a visit, not bad if you figure it by the hour. Added bonus - you are "donating" a vital fluid to be used for someone who has a life-threatening medical need for it.
The Cons to Donating PlasmaWhat I really want to know is if it negatively impacts your long-term health. Young college kids are notorious for thinking they are immortal but I can't afford that kind of mentality. From my research (read: Google), most sites will tell you there is little to no risk to your health.
One company writes, "The process is designed to maintain the health of the donors because it would not make much sense for the company to decrease the health of the donors, which would reduce the amount of plasma donated and negatively impact the company." How very... practical of them.
Common reactions to donating plasma seem to be short-term and include dizziness, fainting and vomiting stemming mostly from not drinking enough water. Plasma is mostly water and in a typical donation session you lose about a half a gallon. Fatigue is also a commonly reported side effect. However, the venerable health Q&A site
Go Ask Alice run by Columbia University explains that regular donations are not only not detrimental to long-term health but also provide a life-saving resource.
Alice explains the risks thusly,
"About twelve percent of the subjects in the study mentioned above had to stop donating because of lowered levels of antibodies in their blood. (Antibodies are special proteins that help the body's immune system fight infection and disease.) Also, pre-menopausal women who donate often are more likely to have lower levels of hemoglobin because of the loss of blood during menstruation. A lack of this protein may make people feel weak and tired. Taking an iron supplement may help counteract this, but be sure to consult a health care provider before doing so."
Alice then also adds,
"Extensive, long-term studies have shown that frequent donation of plasma is safe. [...] One study showed that those who regularly donated blood had a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, but the explanation behind this is still unclear."
So it appears that not only is plasma donation safe but it might actually benefit you in the long run? For some reason I am still a bit leery of it. Is plasma donation a great Recessionista tactic? Or do you think it is too risky? Any of you done it?
This is a guest blog written by Charlotte Anderson, from thegreatfitnessexperiment.blogspot.com.
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Comments (115)
With anything in life there is a risk, however, giving blood and plasma is a great thing to do. So long as it doesn't hurt me to the point where I can't recover, I'm all for it. In fact, I may just check into that. =D
I don't think you get paid for donating in Canada...
It's not really a donation if you get paid, is it? Isn't that more like plasma prostitution?
In any case, I'd donate if I could... but I don't weigh enough to do so.
I always hear more about getting money to donate blood. Does this not happen anymore? I can do blood but plasma SUCKS! I hate the feeling of getting the blood drained back into you.
My husband donates plasma twice a week. He uses the extra money as gas and fun money for him. I figure that he's the one withstanding the huge needle in the vein, so it's his money. I hate getting stuck, and I've had a tattoo within the past year (which is ironic...I love tattoos but hate getting stuck with needles...), so I don't do it. He's very healthy and drnks a lot of water, so it doesn't seem to phase him. To him it's worth it, so who am I to stop him?
It's not that bad...I just don't like how cold you get when they rehydrate you (i.e., deliver an aqueous saline solution in your blood).
I would never do it.
One of the best ways to earn cash QUICK. It's quite painless and that much money for a little bit of time? Well worth getting my gas tank filled!
I've donated blood twice now. I never thought of getting money for donating a specific part of my blood. From what I've heard, Plasma replaces MUCH faster than blood. I have to wait 56 days to donate blood between each donation.
I might look into donating my plasma, but I think I would feel weird getting money for it. haha I would just feel SO GREEDY!
@LadyLibellule@xanga - LOL plasma prostitution. I love that.
I don't see the difference between "donating" plasma and donating blood, except I can get money for donating plasma. Personally, I can't wait to be able to donate blood.
i tried donating plasma, but my iron level is always too low.
seems good but do they have weight limit
cause I am not really sure am I heavy enough to donate/sell my plasma
plus my veggie body probably has low iron level
selling plasma is a great way to get extra cash. it doesn't hurt, it only take 20-30 minutes (45-60 if you count the wait time to get in) if you're well hydrated, you get paid, and you're helping people. i did it in college multiple times, it paid for my beer and gas!!
I've never donated plasma or blood for that matter (I take meds that won't allow it). But I have studied physiology throughout my college career, and I can tell you that it's less dangerous that donating blood (and if they clear you to donate blood your body can handle it). It's true that it takes much less time for the body to regenerate plasma, as it's mostly fluid, and the other components like platelets and antibodies are regenerated daily whether they are removed or not. If I could donate I would do it all the time, great way to make some easy money.
@LadyLibellule@xanga - lol.
My fiance used to prostitute his plasma. I have a heart condition that won't allow it.
@GoodbyeFatHelloLife@xanga - no it's not sary =)
i've been the coordinator of my blood drive for the past 2 years. it really doesn't take that long. it's a great way to earn some easy cash. go donate =)
i've never donated plasma but i donate platelets regularly (once to twice a month). if i do it often enough (about 4 times in two months), i usually get a gift (polo shirt, bag, sweater, etc.) or a gift card from stores or gas stations. it's a similar procedure where blood is drawn into a machine that filters out the platelets and pumped back into the vein but platelets take longer to collect. each session takes 1.5 to 2 hours and could be longer. i also donated white blood cell once. a dying cancer patient needed white blood cells that matched my blood type. i had to take prescription drug a day before to increase my white blood cell count before the procedure. it took 2.5 hours plus waiting and i got nothing more than a pack of apple juice for doing that. i've been doing this for 3 years and it hasn't caused any harm to my body thus far, except they inserted the needle incorrectly 3 or 4 times and bruised my arm quite badly. once my arm was numb for more than 2 weeks but never painful. i wouldn't complain if it really did hurt because i kind of started this habbit hoping that they'd suck all the blood out of my body. if they could save someone else at the same time, that's fine by me.
I used to donate, but I never made that much money (maybe $60 a week). I stopped when I collapsed after a donation.
wish I could, but I don't weigh enough : /
@gloria_0418@xanga - As far as I know you have to be at least 110 pounds.
Two of my friends actually told me about this. Good idea, but I have Gattaca syndrome, so no thanks.
most hospitals wont use blood (unless absolutely necessary) that was PAID. they prefer donated blood. mostly bc the people selling blood for money arent usually ideal .. in cities, most people who donate blood are iv drug abusers who need money. in any case, selling plasma isnt bad for you. your body is making it constantly. and youre really helping people who have weakened immune systems and need those immunoglobulins.Â
see i did it because my roommate convinced me to and i figured i could use some extra money being the cliche poor college kid that i am. well. anyway. we're considered lightweights. so they give you 20 bucks for the first time and every time after that it's only fifteen. however. i will most likely not be doing it again because the place we went to was quite shady and i had quite a bad experience. they tried to stick me in my left arm and couldn't get the blood to come out properly. so the woman wiggled it around for forever then decided to get her supervisor. this woman took it out and bandaged my arm that felt like it was on fire. she then put it in my other arm. this arm seemed to be doing fine until the return process. they tell you that you'll get a really cold feeling. but for me i started getting really really hot and almost passed out. the ladies that were watching over the room put ice packs on me and fanned me with some files for about ten mins while i cooled down. so yeah. not too good of an experience for only twenty dollars. if the place you're going to is reputable and you hear good things i wouldn't go against it. but for me it just wasn't worth it.
i used to do it. actually i think it kept me healthy, because i had to stay hydrated, and i was easily able to keep track of my weight, blood pressure, etc... my body needed a break after a while though. needles dont bother me at all though, i dont understand what the big deal is with them.