Plasma Donation

[ladonnarosso]

Has anyone ever donated plasma? My husband is a teacher and is off summers, and we are always looking for a little side thing to bring in some cash flow. It's not crucial and we don't rely on it to pay our bills, but he has the free time and it seems a waste not to do anything. He's done Uber, restaurant jobs,sold some of his artwork, etc. However, this summer he has several projects around the house that need to get accomplished, so we're looking at something that doesn't require such a large time commitment. It would also onlt be for the next 2 months or so. So... is plasma donation worth it?

[disneysteve]

I haven't done it personally but I know several people who have (or still do). They make decent money for it. As long as you are healthy, you can pick up a nice side income. Some of the places do special promotions so that if you go regularly, you earn bonuses along the way.

[kork13]

My wife did it all through college. She paid for a litany of her regular expenses with the plasma. They let her do it 3x a week, and paid her (I think) $40 each time. Plus, she got bonuses for her first few donations, and also if she brought others who also donated a couple times, and at random other times when they had higher demand. Very good opportunity for a healthy, nutritious individual. That's the one caution I'll give: you do have to be careful in taking care of yourself if you do it long term to ensure you stay healthy... It can be easy to become deficient in a variety of nutrients if you don't keep up with a well-balanced nutrition... A variety of proteins, electrolytes, vitamins, minerals, not to mention water are all contained in plasma, so you need to keep those up if you're going to donate on a long term recurring basis.

[Gailete]

My older son did it for awhile when he was in a particular special financial bind. I can tell you that as a nurse with prison experience, eventually a plasma donor doesn't get scar tissue in you antecubital spaces (the front of your elbow). A very deep pit. The drug attacks were sure to have it as it was a much different scar than drug tracks on your arm.

Plasma donation in and of itself is not harmful as long as you follow instructions and you are supplying a service like blood donation that can not be had from anywhere else.