Anyone have any experience with this?
From what I've read, if you're in reasonably good health and can tolerate needles, you can make $20-30 per hour-long visit.
Donating Plasma for Money
I found some info on a local plasma bank. You can donate plasma fairly often (twice a week), but blood only once every few weeks. They say the appointments take 2-3 hours and you get paid less for the first visit to help cover extra testing. You get paid $30 after that. However, if you include travel time and cost, you are only getting about $10/hr. That's ok if you don't have a job and can't find one and are otherwise healthy, but I wouldn't bother unless you really need the extra cash.
It's worth noting that in many countries, you will not get paid for donating blood or blood plasma.
In the UK, men who've had sex with men are permanently barred, along with other high-risk categories.
Additionally, anyone who's lived in the UK for more than six months during the mad cow disease scare (late 80s-96) is barred from donating blood in most developed countries.
Regardless, it's probably worth consideration if you can do it and get paid.
In the UK, men who've had sex with men are permanently barred, along with other high-risk categories.
Additionally, anyone who's lived in the UK for more than six months during the mad cow disease scare (late 80s-96) is barred from donating blood in most developed countries.
Regardless, it's probably worth consideration if you can do it and get paid.
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Spartan_Warrior
- Posts: 1659
- Joined: Fri Dec 02, 2011 1:24 am
Attention: if you get sick reading about needles etc... what are you doing in this topic anyway? But don't read on...
I work at the bloodbank in the Netherlands. So here it goes. By the way: in the Netherlands, no blood or plasma donor is paid. It is a voluntary thing.
In the Netherlands, donating plasma costs 1-1.5 hours, that is including the check-up beforehand (whether you're fine to donate plasma on that day) and the post-donation sit-down-and-have-a-drink. The actual donation process is anywhere between 0.5 and 1 hour, depending on your blood (if there are more cells in there, the process takes a bit longer - don't worry, it does not matter for your health but it does matter for the plasma aferesis process).
Your veins have to be good enough for the process to work, too. Some people's veins are just too thin or too fragile. A needle goes in one arm. First half a liter of blood is taken out, then the machine works its miracle and separates plasma from blood cells. Then the blood cells come back via the same needle. At least, this is how it goes in the Netherlands! This process is repeated 3-4 times until half a liter of plasma sits in the bag and the blood cells have been returned to the donor each time.
Side-effects (rare, but possible) are small hematomas near where the needle got in, dizziness and fainting (always prepare beforehand by eating enough, drinking enough fluids (NOT alcohol), sleeping enough the night before).
Also in the Netherlands, the regulations for men-having-sex-with-men are the same as in the UK, so donating is not possible.
General regulations are that you are healthy (no cold, no influenza, no use of antibiotics in the last two weeks; no heart disease of course, some chronic diseases are allowed but certainly not all, no malignancy in your personal health history either). Also you should not use harddrugs, and your sexual behaviour should be rather safe (not prostituting yourself, no sex with prostitutes, as a woman no sex with a man who had ever sex with other men, no sex with someone who has a sexually transmitted disorder, no diagnosis of an STD yourself in the last year). Finally, there are a lot of countries in this world where we'd rather have you've not been in the last 1 month to 12 months (depending on the country). For example people who visited the US are barred for 1 month because there's West Nile Virus transmission in the US (and not in the Netherlands).
Some rules are there to protect the donor (for example the rule of heart disease), some are there to protect both donor and recipient (current infections), some are there solely to protect the recipient, and we're rather strict with these, because we want blood (and plasma) to be safe for the recipient.
Plasma can be used to distill proteins from. These often go to people who have a hereditary disease that causes them to not have this protein, so the protein from other humans then helps them survive. This often means that it is a life-long treatment, so we need to decrease risk for these people who may get a treatment every week or every month.
Plasma can also be used as it is taken from the body. It often then goes to burn victims who lose a lot of fluids and proteins from the skin where the skin is burned. It also could go to people who are losing a terrible lot of blood because of a trauma. You can assume these people are very weak, so also for them (even though the treatment is much shorter) it is vital that the plasma is safe, contains no infections.
In short: even when in your country you get paid for plasma donations, do, please, understand that being honest about your behaviour and your current health is important, even if that means that you cannot donate plasma (not this time, or not ever).
I work at the bloodbank in the Netherlands. So here it goes. By the way: in the Netherlands, no blood or plasma donor is paid. It is a voluntary thing.
In the Netherlands, donating plasma costs 1-1.5 hours, that is including the check-up beforehand (whether you're fine to donate plasma on that day) and the post-donation sit-down-and-have-a-drink. The actual donation process is anywhere between 0.5 and 1 hour, depending on your blood (if there are more cells in there, the process takes a bit longer - don't worry, it does not matter for your health but it does matter for the plasma aferesis process).
Your veins have to be good enough for the process to work, too. Some people's veins are just too thin or too fragile. A needle goes in one arm. First half a liter of blood is taken out, then the machine works its miracle and separates plasma from blood cells. Then the blood cells come back via the same needle. At least, this is how it goes in the Netherlands! This process is repeated 3-4 times until half a liter of plasma sits in the bag and the blood cells have been returned to the donor each time.
Side-effects (rare, but possible) are small hematomas near where the needle got in, dizziness and fainting (always prepare beforehand by eating enough, drinking enough fluids (NOT alcohol), sleeping enough the night before).
Also in the Netherlands, the regulations for men-having-sex-with-men are the same as in the UK, so donating is not possible.
General regulations are that you are healthy (no cold, no influenza, no use of antibiotics in the last two weeks; no heart disease of course, some chronic diseases are allowed but certainly not all, no malignancy in your personal health history either). Also you should not use harddrugs, and your sexual behaviour should be rather safe (not prostituting yourself, no sex with prostitutes, as a woman no sex with a man who had ever sex with other men, no sex with someone who has a sexually transmitted disorder, no diagnosis of an STD yourself in the last year). Finally, there are a lot of countries in this world where we'd rather have you've not been in the last 1 month to 12 months (depending on the country). For example people who visited the US are barred for 1 month because there's West Nile Virus transmission in the US (and not in the Netherlands).
Some rules are there to protect the donor (for example the rule of heart disease), some are there to protect both donor and recipient (current infections), some are there solely to protect the recipient, and we're rather strict with these, because we want blood (and plasma) to be safe for the recipient.
Plasma can be used to distill proteins from. These often go to people who have a hereditary disease that causes them to not have this protein, so the protein from other humans then helps them survive. This often means that it is a life-long treatment, so we need to decrease risk for these people who may get a treatment every week or every month.
Plasma can also be used as it is taken from the body. It often then goes to burn victims who lose a lot of fluids and proteins from the skin where the skin is burned. It also could go to people who are losing a terrible lot of blood because of a trauma. You can assume these people are very weak, so also for them (even though the treatment is much shorter) it is vital that the plasma is safe, contains no infections.
In short: even when in your country you get paid for plasma donations, do, please, understand that being honest about your behaviour and your current health is important, even if that means that you cannot donate plasma (not this time, or not ever).
@ Dutch Girl - I'm curious as to the medical reasoning behind why some sexual behaviour excludes certain blood doners. I can see how certain lifestyles increases the risk of infection, but is blood not fully tested anyway for everything before been used ?
Apparently gay men can now donate blood in the uk if they have not had gay sex in the last 12 months:
http://www.blood.co.uk/can-i-give-blood/exclusion/
Apparently gay men can now donate blood in the uk if they have not had gay sex in the last 12 months:
http://www.blood.co.uk/can-i-give-blood/exclusion/
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jennypenny
- Posts: 6858
- Joined: Sun Jul 03, 2011 2:20 pm
I have donated blood once or twice a year as long as I can remember. About twice a year on blood drives in the Army.
What we got out of doing it while in the army was a day off, and lots of grab ass while standing around waiting for our turn. We were usually finished by noon, so we loved doing it. Since retirement, I have gone to give blood when the community blood bank would announce supplies were getting low. I had heard that some people actually sold their blood to the banks. No real knowledge or experiences with that aspect of it. In the old days (much older days than many of the members here can recall) we went to give blood when one of the family was having surgery, it was a traditional thing to do.
What we got out of doing it while in the army was a day off, and lots of grab ass while standing around waiting for our turn. We were usually finished by noon, so we loved doing it. Since retirement, I have gone to give blood when the community blood bank would announce supplies were getting low. I had heard that some people actually sold their blood to the banks. No real knowledge or experiences with that aspect of it. In the old days (much older days than many of the members here can recall) we went to give blood when one of the family was having surgery, it was a traditional thing to do.
Eww... I sure hope if I ever need a transfusion it didn't come from a transvestite hooker who said (s)he was a science teacher and had "an honest smile" so they didn't bother testing it.
I agree with HSpencer though... although I admit to being a wimp w/r to the needles... if I did do it, I would just donate and not sell it. I think it's one of those societal things, and I feel somewhat ashamed I don't give. Unless of course, I found out someone above me was making money of the deal (which is unfortunately all to common in the good ol' USA - but hopefully not with the Red Cross).
Sperm banks are a whole other can of worms though.
I agree with HSpencer though... although I admit to being a wimp w/r to the needles... if I did do it, I would just donate and not sell it. I think it's one of those societal things, and I feel somewhat ashamed I don't give. Unless of course, I found out someone above me was making money of the deal (which is unfortunately all to common in the good ol' USA - but hopefully not with the Red Cross).
Sperm banks are a whole other can of worms though.
RE all the questions about: "But isn't the blood tested?"
Yes, every unit of blood is tested, at least in all developed countries I know of. However, for all tests we suffer from a thing called "window period", where if someone was recently infected the test can say "all clear", while the blood can already be infectious. This is not because researchers are too stupid to find better tests, this is because of limitations of how infections work. More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Window_period
So for example for HIV / AIDS it is known that a test can remain negative ( negative is all clear, positive is oh oh...) for up to six months after the infection event. Now if someone got infected with HIV three months ago during risky sexual behaviour, feels fine, doesn't tell the bloodbank about this risk, it could well be that his blood is taken, the test shows the "all clear" and a patient gets his blood and is very likely infected with HIV. So that is why donating blood is often postponed until 12 months after a one-time risk event.
For men having sexual contact with men, it is known that the risk to have/contract STDs is higher in this group of people. I work at the bloodbank so I will explain this and I will bar any guy who has had sexual contact with other men from donating blood or plasma, if he tells me honestly. But, of course, I do realize that there are lot of gay men in a dedicated monogamous relationship where the risk for STDs is as low as in other dedicated relationships (only unknown risk to the donor: your partner could stray, get an STD there and transmit it to you).
Finally, the rules for who can and who cannot donate blood are partly made by the European Union, partly by the Netherlands and partly by the blood bank itself (the most important rules with the longest deferral times are from the EU/the government). I believe in the US the FDA makes the rules to protect the safety of blood and blood products.
PS. I am also a bit biased, I have to say. I admitted one openly homosexual guy to donate blood because it was for himself (he had a planned operation on his hip with the potential of lots of blood loss - and the bag of blood he was donating was specifically labelled for himself, it would not be given to anyone else), and it turned out the guy had syphilis. It was likely an old infection that had been treated but apparently not effectively. The guy was okay about it, very relaxed, but I was glad that we caught it anyway.
Yes, every unit of blood is tested, at least in all developed countries I know of. However, for all tests we suffer from a thing called "window period", where if someone was recently infected the test can say "all clear", while the blood can already be infectious. This is not because researchers are too stupid to find better tests, this is because of limitations of how infections work. More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Window_period
So for example for HIV / AIDS it is known that a test can remain negative ( negative is all clear, positive is oh oh...) for up to six months after the infection event. Now if someone got infected with HIV three months ago during risky sexual behaviour, feels fine, doesn't tell the bloodbank about this risk, it could well be that his blood is taken, the test shows the "all clear" and a patient gets his blood and is very likely infected with HIV. So that is why donating blood is often postponed until 12 months after a one-time risk event.
For men having sexual contact with men, it is known that the risk to have/contract STDs is higher in this group of people. I work at the bloodbank so I will explain this and I will bar any guy who has had sexual contact with other men from donating blood or plasma, if he tells me honestly. But, of course, I do realize that there are lot of gay men in a dedicated monogamous relationship where the risk for STDs is as low as in other dedicated relationships (only unknown risk to the donor: your partner could stray, get an STD there and transmit it to you).
Finally, the rules for who can and who cannot donate blood are partly made by the European Union, partly by the Netherlands and partly by the blood bank itself (the most important rules with the longest deferral times are from the EU/the government). I believe in the US the FDA makes the rules to protect the safety of blood and blood products.
PS. I am also a bit biased, I have to say. I admitted one openly homosexual guy to donate blood because it was for himself (he had a planned operation on his hip with the potential of lots of blood loss - and the bag of blood he was donating was specifically labelled for himself, it would not be given to anyone else), and it turned out the guy had syphilis. It was likely an old infection that had been treated but apparently not effectively. The guy was okay about it, very relaxed, but I was glad that we caught it anyway.
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Spartan_Warrior
- Posts: 1659
- Joined: Fri Dec 02, 2011 1:24 am
@chilly: "Unless of course, I found out someone above me was making money of the deal (which is unfortunately all to common in the good ol' USA - but hopefully not with the Red Cross)."
Yep. My understanding is the reason the donations are paid for at all is because the plasma is highly valued by pharmaceutical companies. Plasma donations aren't really going to any person in particular, they're going to an R&D division. Of course, the research is necessary to advance medicine, but still. You're selling a commodity to a company, basically, not really donating to a beneficiary. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Yep. My understanding is the reason the donations are paid for at all is because the plasma is highly valued by pharmaceutical companies. Plasma donations aren't really going to any person in particular, they're going to an R&D division. Of course, the research is necessary to advance medicine, but still. You're selling a commodity to a company, basically, not really donating to a beneficiary. Correct me if I'm wrong.
I'll correct you. As I said somewhere above, plasma is mostly used to extract proteins from that are used to treat people who don't have these proteins. For example factor VIII, a protein involved in blood clotting, missing in boys with a certain type of hemofilia. This extraction of factor VIII is considered a medication and can be produced by pharmaceutical companies. (In the Netherlands a subdivision of the blood bank does this, and the blood bank here is a non-for-profit company).
Other examples of extracted proteins: albumin, useful in a disease where people get oedema because they don't have enough protein in their blood, mixed antibodies (useful in people who have a hereditary disorder causing them to produce too little for protection against diseases), specific antibodies against tetanus, hepatitis B or C, varicella zoster (these are for people who likely got into contact with that disease without being vaccinated. The antibodies are an accute form of protection for them, making it less likely that they develop the disease, or a severe form of it).
Gotta love wikipedia, by the way: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_plasma_fractionation
Other examples of extracted proteins: albumin, useful in a disease where people get oedema because they don't have enough protein in their blood, mixed antibodies (useful in people who have a hereditary disorder causing them to produce too little for protection against diseases), specific antibodies against tetanus, hepatitis B or C, varicella zoster (these are for people who likely got into contact with that disease without being vaccinated. The antibodies are an accute form of protection for them, making it less likely that they develop the disease, or a severe form of it).
Gotta love wikipedia, by the way: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_plasma_fractionation
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Spartan_Warrior
- Posts: 1659
- Joined: Fri Dec 02, 2011 1:24 am
This is where I got my info:
http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2008/09/ ... -donation/
"If you give your plasma at a for-profit center and receive money for it, you lose control over what the plasma can be used for. This means that while some of it may wind up helping burn victims and the like, some of it might also be used by pharmaceutical research companies for their experiments.
If you instead choose to donate your blood, through the American Red Cross, for example, you can receive assurance that your blood will be directly used for treating medical emergencies. You lose that right if you sell your plasma."
Another very interesting article about the for-profit "plasma cartel" in the US and how it holds half the plasma supply for the entire world:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/06/busin ... wanted=all
Things are different in the good ole USA.
http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2008/09/ ... -donation/
"If you give your plasma at a for-profit center and receive money for it, you lose control over what the plasma can be used for. This means that while some of it may wind up helping burn victims and the like, some of it might also be used by pharmaceutical research companies for their experiments.
If you instead choose to donate your blood, through the American Red Cross, for example, you can receive assurance that your blood will be directly used for treating medical emergencies. You lose that right if you sell your plasma."
Another very interesting article about the for-profit "plasma cartel" in the US and how it holds half the plasma supply for the entire world:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/06/busin ... wanted=all
Things are different in the good ole USA.
I have a negative view on this based on my childhood.
In short, my parents ( natural Mom and Step Dad ) did this to earn extra money, and close cash gaps.
I've avoided, in hindsight, donating blood etc for this reason alone.
Using this path for extra money ?
No, that just crosses a line for me. Not because its a good idea ( I see many positives here ) - but because if my personal finance planning includes "dontaing blood/plasma" - I've failed on multiple levels.
My two cents, FWIW
In short, my parents ( natural Mom and Step Dad ) did this to earn extra money, and close cash gaps.
I've avoided, in hindsight, donating blood etc for this reason alone.
Using this path for extra money ?
No, that just crosses a line for me. Not because its a good idea ( I see many positives here ) - but because if my personal finance planning includes "dontaing blood/plasma" - I've failed on multiple levels.
My two cents, FWIW
@MikeBOS:
Military definition of "Grab Ass".
Anything from arm wrestling to kidding to generally wasting otherwise dead time while you are engaged in "hurry up and wait" activities. I would suppose in this day and time the social aspects would be relegated to sitting silently and having one's nose in one's cell phone, or maybe playing some game on a ipad. In the old days, we thought up a lot of crazy things to fill this time, none the least of which we would engage in the always fulfilling one upmanship that males seem to favor so highly. Someone, somewhere, in the dark distant past, named this activity "grab ass"..Like, "Alright you morons, knock off the grab ass, and listen up"
Military definition of "Grab Ass".
Anything from arm wrestling to kidding to generally wasting otherwise dead time while you are engaged in "hurry up and wait" activities. I would suppose in this day and time the social aspects would be relegated to sitting silently and having one's nose in one's cell phone, or maybe playing some game on a ipad. In the old days, we thought up a lot of crazy things to fill this time, none the least of which we would engage in the always fulfilling one upmanship that males seem to favor so highly. Someone, somewhere, in the dark distant past, named this activity "grab ass"..Like, "Alright you morons, knock off the grab ass, and listen up"
@spartan_warrior: thanks, I didn't know. Still, I haven't got a clue how many liters pharmaceutical companies would use to just do research on. I can't imagine it is a lot, but still it could be, of course.
@rcamp: I would definitely advise against making "donating plasma for money" a vital part of someone's ERE plan. People have to stop donating plasma for health reasons, or because their veins can't take it anymore. So you do not want to be dependent on that for your life (even though some US people may be, it is not a wise idea).
@rcamp: I would definitely advise against making "donating plasma for money" a vital part of someone's ERE plan. People have to stop donating plasma for health reasons, or because their veins can't take it anymore. So you do not want to be dependent on that for your life (even though some US people may be, it is not a wise idea).