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I've fallen into the demographic of broke-rear end American college student that needs to donate his body to multi-conglomerate blood-suckers profitting off of my body's sustenance. What can anyone tell me about their experiences donating plasma for sweet, sweet $dollars$ ? I signed up for a local lab's service on Monday. It's very clean, the employees were all very courteous and informative, and the environment didn't feel at all like an oppressive, last-ditch clinic. I passed the physical and all the necessary tests. But when I sat down and had the needle inserted, the lab technician/nurse informed me that my blood was flowing too slow for them to get a sample in any normal amount of time. Apparently my blood wouldn't move fast enough into the machine. Likely this was because I hadn't eaten enough, or drinken enough the day before. My pulse was also low; I think my yoga and med. routine might have something to do with that. The recommendations given to me by the nursing staff was to make sure I properly hydrate next time, eat more, and maybe try a teaspoon of vegatable oil, and some iron pills to make sure that the plasma is lubricated in the blood, so it will have a better chance of moving faster next time. Fortunately, since the needle was inserted, I got my $60 anyway, without actually having to donate. You're allowed to go twice a week in my state, and I'm going to give it another go in a few days after taking the necessary steps to get my golden blood moving. Anyone else have fun stories to share about plasma donation?
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Jun 5, 2018 18:50
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| # ? Apr 28, 2024 22:44 |
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I've donated plasma for the last few years. Donating is unpaid in my country so I have no experience with the sweet $dollars$ tho! I assume you're getting hooked up to a machine that takes the blood out, seperates it and reinjects your red blood cells? My blood tends to flow rather slow too but squeezing a foam ball helps to speed it up. It usually takes about 40 mins for me to squirt out 500ml. It seems like there's a bigger risk of the needle prick reopening after a plasma donation. I've seen three donors rushing back into the tap room with blood flowing down their arms  I assume this is due to the needle being stuck in the arm for longer than with a regular donation. Otherwise plasma donating is a lot easier on the body as you get the blood cells back.
Lima fucked around with this message at 20:08 on Jun 5, 2018 |
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Jun 5, 2018 20:05
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Lima posted:I assume you're getting hooked up to a machine that takes the blood out, seperates it and reinjects your red blood cells? My blood tends to flow rather slow too but squeezing a foam ball helps to speed it up. It usually takes about 40 mins for me to squirt out 500ml. Yes that's the machine I'm talking about! I'll have to bring a squeeze ball next time and give that a try. Thanks.
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Jun 6, 2018 03:34
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It sounds like your center is a bit different than mine. I go in, sign in on a computer and have to answer like 15 questions that have to speak out the entire question for you before it'll let you proceed. Then, go into a room with someone who takes a sample of your blood via finger prick. Then they run that tiny sample through a machine and test it for iron or whatever. There is like 2-3 things they do with it. Then you go sit in a chair and get a needle in your arm. I only had 1 bad experience where they only like nicked or something on my vein and they couldn't get any flow. I only ended up with like 10 dollars. Kind of sucked because at my center they pay for extra for the 2nd donation of the week, and then even more for your 6x+ donation. So that was like 50 bucks gone. Oh, also a big bruise on one arm. I second the squeezy ball too though. I'm not really sure it was recommended or not, but I took some arginine before the next donation (since I knew it helped with blood flow when you work out) and I was in and out in 37 minutes. Most of my other trips were 40-55 minutes. The techs were surprised on how quick it was. Also, put some movies or tv on your phone and some headphones because it gets boring.
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Jun 8, 2018 14:22
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I found out that eating peanut butter the day of or before can make the blood sluggish. In my experience.
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Jun 10, 2018 08:09
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I did biomat and talecris, one did cash while the other did prepaid debit. I asked to be stuck in the same spot twice a week for a year because I didn't want multiple needle marks on my arms, so now I have one large scar in the crook of my elbow. There's only one of them and it's hidden when I bend my arm, so nobody has ever asked about it, except doctors. I think it's kind of cool, like a target for phlebotomists. If you have to pee before donation, do it, since you might be waiting to finish up or get disconnected. Eat well and drink lots of water. Don't eat immediately before, blood gets fatty if you eat heavily prior. Why are you choosing to donate rather than work a second gig? The time commitment is about the same. Also: I won the biomat raffle twice in one week because the phlebotomist girls thought I was cute. Bio-Hazard fucked around with this message at 21:27 on Jun 15, 2018 |
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Jun 15, 2018 21:24
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It can be time consuming, if memory serves it's about 2 hours. The ones in my area say you can earn up to $400 a month. Be aware that some will pay you on a prepaid Visa card. You will pay the action fee and the reloading fee.
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Jun 19, 2018 04:13
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| # ? Apr 28, 2024 22:44 |
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I donated thorough ADMA in Atlanta while I was in college, and they'd switched from issuing checks to using a prepaid debit card. The card has a gently caress ton of fees if you use it like a regular debit card, so I just set up a Square account to move the money to my regular bank account. Since on the debit side, the first transaction after a donation was free, I only lost the Square transaction fee. Compared to ATM fees or per-transaction fees, it was less money lost. Time of day when you go in is a major factor in how fast you get in and out, the later in the day you go, the longer you'll usually have to wait for both the iron/bp/pulse screening and to just get in a chair to donate. I always made sure to have at least a snack within the hour prior to showing up, or else I'd risk having problems that would get me disconnected early and loving everything up: feeling hot, ringing in the ears to the exclusion of outside sounds, vision starting to go grey around the edges. You will probably be cold while you're hooked up, and moreso when they inject saline at the end. Bring a jacket. Something to do while you sit there is good too...don't know if other companies provide TVs to watch but I was never much of a TV person anyway. They might have free WiFi, mine did. If you're the kind of person who's into tattoos, a new tattoo will get you a (iirc) year on the deferral list, meaning unable to donate plasma or whole blood. Piercings too, both are HIV/hepatitis risks because they can't guarantee the cleanliness of wherever you went. And not reporting either to get around it is a good way to get permanently blacklisted.
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Jun 30, 2018 18:38
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