Donating plasma. Many people have heard of it, however some people don’t know quite what it is.  It often gets confused with donating blood,  but it’s completely different. For one, the needle can generally be much larger when donating plasma; which will automatically make some people go, “oh hell no!” right off of the bat. The money. That is the main attraction for most people to get interested in the plasma donating scene.

Just at the center I donate at, you can make over $4,000 a year from this, considering they don’t defer you any days, (you can get deferred for being dehydrated, low protein, etc.). This also includes the monthly bonuses they offer to those with a disciplined donating schedule. The amount you get paid can depend on where you donate. For example, I get $60 a week donating: $20 first donation, and $40 the second; this isn’t without any of their offered bonuses. You can donate twice a week and most centers pay you the same day you donate.

People who give blood generally don’t get paid, though…. they do get a free meal and get to be a good person in general for providing blood to save lives. When donating plasma you get paid, and you still get to be a good person whilst saving lives! Not only that, you get to watch Netflix, read a book,… a blog post; and you’re technically getting paid to do that as well!

As mentioned, they can defer you and relatively easily. I’ve been deferred at least 6-7 times in the last year that I’ve been donating. People who donate can tend to operate their daily routine a bit differently from others, because they always have to make sure they’re drinking a lots of water, and eating a good meal before going in. The more water you drink, the faster you’ll donate; it’ll make the the blood flow better into the plasmapheresis  (named after what the removal process is called) machine to separate the plasma from blood more effectively. Another huge reason is simply… you’ll not be the king of the mountain after donating, quite the opposite in fact.

You’ll want to take it easy after donating, avoiding all alcoholic drinks, smoking, chewing tobacco, etc. You also want to eat a filling meal and drink a lot of water to re-hydrate yourself, and assisting your body to restore it’s lost plasma. Water is incredibly critical in plasma production due to plasma being about 90% water. It takes nearly 24 hours to replenish, and all plasma centers (in the US), are required to not allow any one person to donate more than twice a week, and with at least 2 days between a donation.

Back to the money. The money from it is such a useful resource for many things. Hell, I even paid for nearly 70% of my last vacation with money I’ve made from it, just this past September! I’ve gotten groceries and other needed products with this money, when otherwise I would’ve feel a bit short. I’ve met several nice and interesting people along the way, which makes it all the more worth it each time I come in to donate. Nothing quite like making money and saving lives by doing so! Any questions, feel free to ask in the comments section!