I'm poor and I was thinking it'd be a good way to supplement my paycheck...

According to the DCI biologicals website, you can donate every 48 hours, but the commercials make it sound like you can only donate twice a week, but 48 hours would let you do 3 times a week...which is it?

I would guess that it's both.

You can donate no more than twice a week, and must wait at least 48 hours between donations.

That would make sense...haha.

And according to the commercial, $180 a month = 45 a week. I dont think you get the same amount each time, but $45 a week is like almost an extra shift at work...

Any idea how long it takes? If it took about an hour, then $45 for 2 hours "work" isn't bad...

Just see if you want track marks on your arm. Had a friend at A&M do it for 4 years and looked like she was a regular drug user with the marks. Up to the individual

Well not that I'm super worried about what others think of me, but is it not possible to explain that you donate plasma if there's some question? And if it's a problem at work, I'll let them drug test me all they want, I'm a clean guy.

The site says 2hrs for the first time because of 'screening', and an hour after that, so even 45 for 3 hours is good money...considerably more than my hourly wage!

You can donate only twice a week. For instance, you can donate monday, and then on wednesday. But then you can't donate again til the next monday. If you weigh over 175 or something you get a bonus the second time you give each week. They also have lots of random bonuses for different things, like giving 4 times in 2 weeks, your birthday, and other random things. Also, every month or so they have a cash drawing if you give regularly. If you give twice a week every week you can make over 200 dollars a month. I'm going to keep doing it until I can find a real job when I graduate in August. It's a really nice extra source of income.

The first time will take you about 3 hours. The first four times you give you'll get something like $20, $30, $25, $35 respectively, or something obscure like that. After that the base pay is $15 and then $30 if you give a second time in the same week. If you weigh at least 175 or whatever, you get an extra $6 every second donation of the week. The key is you have to give twice a week to make it worth it.

Oh and don't worry about having marks on your arms. I've given for a while and I have very small marks that are not really noticeable. And if someone were to notice...you tell them you gave plasma....it's pretty simple.


[This message has been edited by ClickClack (edited 7/11/2009 1:57a).]

[This message has been edited by ClickClack (edited 7/11/2009 1:59a).]

So beyond the bonus pay the first couple weeks, I could get $51 a week? Pretty sweet supplement...

exactly scooley, you can count on making $51 a week after the first four times you donate.

If you give twice a week every week you will get $51, $56, $51, $56, etc. If you give 8 or 9 times a month you get 5 extra dollars on both the 8th and 9th visit of the month.

[This message has been edited by ClickClack (edited 7/11/2009 2:01a).]

Man, sounds like the more regular you are, the more profitable this is...but either way, ~$200 a month is a nice addition to my bank account for sure. It's like eliminating monthly incidentals (2 tanks of gas, laundry soap, dog food, etc) from my budget.

I know, if you're disciplined with it, it really helps. What you said is exactly the way I look at it: I eliminate extra costs completely like groceries and entertainment just with the plasma money. Then my paycheck at my part-time job goes to bills and I can save the rest. It's a good system.

[This message has been edited by ClickClack (edited 7/11/2009 2:09a).]

Thanks for the help.

I was going to pick up an extra shift at work tomorrow, I think I may just get up early and donate (Website says they close at 1)

No problem. Good luck. I hope big needles don't bother you .

Have you donated blood before? If so, do you feel more/less light headed doing plasma? Because when I do blood, sometimes I get pretty woozy, but it varies from donation to donation...

Yes, I have donated blood a few times. There is a difference, but your body gets more used to giving plasma after a few times. First off, make sure you always eat a good meal before you give plasma. The only time I have ever felt lightheaded right afterwards was one time that I didn't eat before I gave, and that was a long time ago on one of my first donations so I wasn't totally used to it either.

With plasma, they do put the platelets back into your bloodstream (I don't know if this was already obvious), so it's different in that respect. But I do feel like it's more taxing on your body. I usually feel at least a little tired a few hours after giving plasma.

Anyway, in summary, you should be fine as long as you eat something beforehand. One other thing is that the needle is bigger with plasma. It seriously seems like it's the same circumference as a coffee straw to me. I don't want to freak you out or anything, but if I remember the regular blood needles correctly, the plasma needle is wider. It's really not bad though even the first time. Then, once you get more used to it, it's just routine and you hardly notice it.

I actually hate needles, and I make funny faces and look away when I donate blood, but once it's in it's not a big deal to me...the finger***** anemia test sucks worse tbqh.

Edit: apparently you can't say prik on here...lol

[This message has been edited by Scooley01 (edited 7/11/2009 2:29a).]

Yeah, they'll "prik" your finger every time to test the iron and hydration levels too. I usually look away when they put the needle in too. In only hurts for a second then you don't really feel it, but I guess anyone that has had a needle stuck in them knows that.

I go to Westgate Biologicals. I don't know about the other location, but at Westgate at University and Tarrow everyone is very laid back and nice. You kinda get to know some of the people because you see them twice a week and they're all cool. I also usually bring my iPod or something to do when I'm giving. You can even bring a laptop if you want to. Also, they have tvs in view of wherever you might be sitting, so that helps time pass too.

[This message has been edited by ClickClack (edited 7/11/2009 2:34a).]

Hmm...I usually read when I have down time, but I might not be able to move my arms to turn the pages. iPod sounds like a good option.

You have one arm free so I'm sure you can manage to turn the pages if you want. Anyway, I'm going to bed but in summary:

good extra money
get paid to listen to your ipod and watch tv
nice people
eat before and hydrate yourself and you should be fine

i used to donate plasma. the place i went to, you could only donate twice a week. mon/wed or tues/thurs. the first visit paid $20 the second paid $30.

quote:

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$45 a week is like almost an extra shift at work

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I'm glad I'm not a student anymore.

I did this for the better part of year my sophomore year.

Built a computer with my profits. Two hours the first time; about 1 hour in the chair thereafter. Really not that bad if needles don't bother you. Only had one mis-stick in all that time, too (got an extra $3 for it, IIRC).

As far as the scarring goes, they were always able to use the same spot on me, so I only have one tiny spot that looks different. I don't think scarring becomes an issue unless you do this for years at a time.

You cannot sleep while donating, so take something to do to keep you awake/awake-looking. And, for the love of god, when they take the needle out of your arm and tell you to apply pressure to the spot, do it! One time the girl next to me didn't, with somewhat comedic results...

There was a place not far from the Dixie Chicken and we used to do that for beer money. It is kinda freaky when they put your blood back in at room temp.......

I did this during the year I substitute taught in CS but eventually had to stop because I kept getting sick from the combination of donating plasma and dealing with kids.

It was nice while it lasted though. The phlebotomists are really social and can be really fun to talk to. You can definitely read a book...that's what I used to do. My scar is really small but definitely noticeable if a person is looking at that part of your arm. I have never been questioned about it though.

I think even more important than having eaten is to be well hydrated because it is very dehydrating. On my way home I used to stop by Sonic and get a Route 44 root beer (since you're not supposed to have caffeine or alcohol afterward...due to the dehydration thing) to try to help my body recover.

Best things about it:
-Finding out your weight every time you donate
-Free kool-aid/juice/sugary liquid while waiting to donate
-Seeing the kinds of people who are there
-Basically free money

**FYI: girls whose plasma is green are on the pill**

you can't really call this donating can you?

Never understood why they call it "donating" plasma, when you are selling your plasma...

I did it a few times in college, no big deal. My roomate, though, had his vein infiltrated?? once and when the blood minus plasma came back through the return cycle, it filtered into the muscle in his arm instead of his vein. He said it burned like hell and his entire arm was black and blue for weeks.

I would like to thank everyone who donates plasma, blood and platelets! Without your help lots of people would die.

IIRC, they took .787 liters of plasma from me each time (they told me I should have about 5? does that sound right?)

The worst pain I ever had from it was the time they didn't do a good job removing the excess iodine from the site before sticking me. The iodine coated the needle tip as it was going in, creating a most unpleasant burning sensation for a good 5 or 10 minutes.