posted
If you are in good health and desperate. Make sure you eat some sugar or carbs before you do it, don't go on an empty stomach. I did it once. I hadn't eaten that day. I almost fainted by the time they were getting the last drop. One caution: they have to filter the blood to get plasma, so this is a possible infection risk. You'd have to research that, I cannot.
Posts: 6316 | Registered: Jun 2003
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posted
Yeah, just as long as you know that selling your plasma means it will only be used for research, not to directly save a patient's life.
Posts: 2064 | Registered: Dec 2003
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Unfortunately, I thought this thread was going to be dedicated to highly ionized gas and all its awesomeness.
Posts: 9945 | Registered: Sep 2002
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posted
Silly newbie. You showed up, what, a couple weeks ago? I've clearly been around way longer than you.
Posts: 9945 | Registered: Sep 2002
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posted
I donated plasma some back in college. Here's some pros and cons:
Pros = it's money. It's money for just lieing there. There's an interesting sensation when they return the chilled blood to your arm -- sort of like drinking a cold milkshake, only with your veins sucking up the cold milk.
Cons = if you do it repeatedly, you'll get permanent scars where they put the needle in; I've got a small one, I don't like that... And one time when they put the blood back in, some of it leaked under the skin instead of going back in the vein, and I had a painful bruise for a month...
Posts: 2911 | Registered: Aug 2001
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posted
I give my plasma. I did it once a month for one year, and I'm fine, thank you. But I have to say that we are very scrupulous with material here in France because of HIV problems, so each thing that touches your blood is new and sterilizated. I don't know if it's the same in the USA. EDIT : have to add too the the nurses always told me that I was lucky to have such beautiful veins, and that's why I never had the type of problems Plaid is talking about when they put the blood back.
[ April 21, 2004, 03:54 AM: Message edited by: Anna ]
Posts: 3526 | Registered: Oct 2001
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quote: the nurses always told me that I was lucky to have such beautiful veins, and that's why I never had the type of problems Plaid is talking about when they put the blood back
hey, my veins are very nice and very beautiful too and I usually get complimented on them -- I blame the phlebotamist for the time that went wrong...
Posts: 2911 | Registered: Aug 2001
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posted
I used to sell plasma regularly (being a poor single mom, you do whatever you can). It isn't any worse that giving blood, except it takes a lot longer, and -- as said above -- the worse part is when they put the red cells back in and it is COLD! You can just feel that not-body-temperature blood streaming through your body until it gets warmed up. I always took a jacket to lay over me for that part.
I have no idea what the going rate is now, but it used to be $40 for the first time, then times after that were less. And there are restrictions as to how often you can go in and sell it. And it doesn't do any good to go to a "different" plasma site in the same city -- they all keep a database together to make sure people aren't hopping from one plasma center to another to get under the requirements.
posted
It's a donation, Morbo, even though one receives a modest amount of cash. Figuring in time, transportation, and extra food costs, odds are that one will receive close to or less than the minimum wage for an equivalent time. (It's been a while, so conditions may be better now.) I've probably donated/sold more plasma than anyone on this forum, and strictly cashwise it wasn't worth the effort. But since I could make use of my time while waiting&donating to study and for recreational reading that I would have done anyways, the 'good deed' aspects of donating made it well worthwhile.
Plasma is extremely valuable medically. Plasma is a more storeable whole blood substitute when the proper whole blood is unavailable. Even when whole blood is available, it is often used first to increase blood pressure before whole blood is used, and as a supplement to whole blood afterwards. And plasma components are separated&purified into medical necessities such as blood clotting factor for treating hemophilia, gamma globulin (used to suppress viral infections such as hepatitis and measles), etc.
posted
Here in France you can't be given money to give your blood or any blood product. They give you some food to be sure you'll be fine, that's all.
Posts: 3526 | Registered: Oct 2001
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