Anyone Donate Plasma?

[ReadySetMillionaire]

I spent most of this weekend looking into all my fixed costs and making sure that my expenses are as efficient as possible. With that out of the way, I'm looks into side income ideas that would not be too distracting from my main career (attorney).

Donating plasma seems like a reasonably efficient use of time. I could go on my lunch once per week, and it looks like the local plasma center would pay roughly $30 per visit.

That would be $120 per month, which would pay for multiple fixed expenses and increase cash flow. This is especially important this year, as my fiancé just started a new job and we are paying for a wedding. An extra $120 would be great.

Anybody else do this?

[nora]

I have started to donate plasma in Australia in the last six months. It is fortnightly. I do whole blood every 12 weeks, after which the next plasma donation is delayed to 4 weeks out. And it is unpaid here! The time it takes depends on how fast your blood flows out into the machine. Plasma takes much longer than whole blood as it takes a few cycles to get all the plasma out and the red blood cells back in to you. You could try it out and see how you go?

[AllN4Ton]

I donated through Biolife in the past. Typically you could get $70 per week with 2 donations, the second donation of the week was worth more. It was $30 for the first and $40 for the second or something like that, but there was an incentive to go back for the second donation. My local branch was not bad at all, I have no complaints about the staff of facility. My main complaint is that you are reimbursed onto a prepaid visa card that has all kinds of fees attached to it. It's saving grace is that you could transfer the balance to a checking account penalty free if the transfer was at least $300. Donations usually took 50 minutes to an hour start to finish, but how much you donate depends on your weight. I knew a petite female that donated and she was done in less than 30 minutes every time.

I would donate again if it was closer to my house, but its just not worth the drive for me right now.

[MrMonkeyMoustache]

Not sure where I'd find info on it around here. Live near Morgantown, WV, if anyone knows of a place.

I've done drug studies, though. Just have to pick the right ones, and the risk is pretty minimal (worst I've seen is a kid sneeze once...but he had just eaten a hamburger with pepper on it).

[chaskavitch]

I used to donate plasma in undergrad.  Ours let you donate twice a week, and you were paid more for the second one.  You were also paid more if you weighed more, because they can safely take more plasma out :)  There was always a little bit of a wait beforehand to chairs to clear out, but donating itself took about an hour, and they usually have movies playing or something.  Other than having a permanent little scar on my arm where they always stuck me, it was a good experience.  I only quit because I didn't need the money enough to make free time for it.  Way easier to take 2 hours out of your week when you're single and in college vs married with a baby and a full time job :)

[Hotstreak]

I used to donate plasma in undergrad.  Ours let you donate twice a week, and you were paid more for the second one.  You were also paid more if you weighed more, because they can safely take more plasma out :)  There was always a little bit of a wait beforehand to chairs to clear out, but donating itself took about an hour, and they usually have movies playing or something.  Other than having a permanent little scar on my arm where they always stuck me, it was a good experience.  I only quit because I didn't need the money enough to make free time for it.  Way easier to take 2 hours out of your week when you're single and in college vs married with a baby and a full time job :)

The time constraints are the main reason I never went ahead with this.  At my local office, they quoted common wait times of over an hour (before starting the plasma extraction process).  One hour for ~$30 made sense, two did not.

[khangaroo]

I wrote a blog post about it here:

http://khang-nguyen.com/?p=406

There is also a previous thread here:

http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/blood-plasma/

The most important thing I have to say is to monitor your health VERY closely as soon as you start donating. From my own personal experience, and I consider myself a healthy male who took good care of my body, it definitely took a toll on my body. I was always tired after donating and I would instantly fall asleep as soon I got home, I didn't have the energy to do anything. You have to ensure that you're drinking enough fluids and eating right more than normal because they're taking essential nutrients out of your body.

Even though they put back your "blood", you would be surprised at the amount of plasma they take it - it's a HUGE bottle, typically 880 ML (VOSS water bottle).

I rarely got sick but I got more susceptible as I started to donate plasma, I also could not recover from my sickness while donating but as soon as I stopped, within a week I was fine.

From one human to another, I would NOT sacrifice my health for $120/month - it's not worth it. Drive for Uber, be a free lance, coach youth soccer (my side job), do ANYTHING besides selling YOUR plasma.

Money you can get, health you cannot.

[bigalsmith101]

I donated Plasma in college, around 2003-4. I donated twice a week for $25 the first time, and $35 the second. I donated at Bio-Life in Bellingham, Washington. Everyone was paid the same rate for each donation, though plasma donation volume varied by weight. I weighed 200lbs at the time and donated a liter of plasma. It took about an hour, and was well more than I could have easily earned while in college at the time. Every donation was scheduled ahead of time, so wait time was minimal. There were reclined beds to lay in, with free wifi, and a tv to watch if you were incline. I always just read a book as that was my preferred past time.

The only reason I stopped was because I got a tattoo, and they wouldn't allow donation for 12 months after the tattoo. I didn't remember that when I got that tattoo. OOPS!

I only live 4 miles from my local Bio-Life plasma donation center, and so my wife and I are considering doing it again. (would be the first time for my wife). My wife and I could generate over $7000 if we kept to it up for a year. That would be awesome.

[nnls]

I spent most of this weekend looking into all my fixed costs and making sure that my expenses are as efficient as possible. With that out of the way, I'm looks into side income ideas that would not be too distracting from my main career (attorney).

Donating plasma seems like a reasonably efficient use of time. I could go on my lunch once per week, and it looks like the local plasma center would pay roughly $30 per visit.

That would be $120 per month, which would pay for multiple fixed expenses and increase cash flow. This is especially important this year, as my fiancé just started a new job and we are paying for a wedding. An extra $120 would be great.

Anybody else do this?

i donate plasma once a fortnight, though its not paid here, just doing it to help save lives ect.

Here in Australia they restrict it to fortnightly donating. Something to do with the quality going down with increased donations?

It takes about 40 -60 minutes depending on my hydration levels and such, the amount you can donate depends on your weight as well, I weigh about 55kg so you may take a bit longer if you weigh more. That time included the medical questioning that happens every time

[Nemesis.]

I looked into this but where I live the facilities sound like they are not well run.
Many negative reviews made me cross it off my list.
If I thought it was save (clean) I would probably do it though.
Maybe give yourself a break every couple of months though.

[use2betrix]

I did it a ton in college. Loved it. The places were always clean and staff was nice. Since my veins were big and easy they'd sometimes pay me extra to let a "new" employee jab me. M

Really have no complaints other than sometimes a long wait, but that's case dependent. If I didn't work so much now and have a higher income i wouldn't rule out doing it again.

[MoonLiteNite]

I did it for about 5 years.
Depending on the company you are working with, and how busy they are and  the current demand (money you get), it CAN be worth your time, or maybe not.

I watched it go from 20/35 to 35/75 for payouts in my 5 years. with crazy perks, like after not missing a donation in 12 weeks you get a 200$ bonus. Or doing the booster tetanus shots every month for an extra 10$ per a donation.
I have also watched waiting times go from 0-60mins and during certain times up to 120 mins! Just to be seated....

If the math worked out to be around 20$/hr i would still do it, but due to the location of the place, the and wait times and current payouts here, it isn't worth more than 15$/hr for 4 hours a week.


Also, it stops you from donating blood/whole blood. And it gives you NASTY scares for the rest of your life. :(

edit:
I started with a local small in Austin, TX. Who then was later bought out by BioLife.
Year range was 2005-2010~
ALso checked out DCI plasma and uhhh another company.
And if you really wanted, you could really donate plasma to a blood bank, without receiving cash, that plasma is actually used to help people directly and not to fund research or make meds which are sold for profit (not that there is anything wrong with that)

[EverCurious]

Ah back in my college days my friends and I would all go donate plasma for extra spending cash. Unfortunately, now I am no longer able to do so, because of the medications I am on.

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