donating plasma for extra money?

has anyone around here done anything like this? i just thought of this! where i live they have plasma centers where they pay you to donate, i think you have to go like 2-3 times a week, but you make an extra 200 a month. i was thinking about giving it a try.

Unfortunately, there is a time limit between blood donations because I don't believe the human body can replenish three pints of blood every week to keep one donating on the schedule you mention....but a medical degree I do not have...donating blood is done by a lot of college age students for extra funds and also donating sperm by college age males (usually those in medical school) to help pay costs. Even college age females have been donating eggs (becoming very popular) to help pay for school costs and get paid quite a bit for doing that but they have to go through hormonal treatment and other issues so cannot donate very often. While both are helpful things to do I don't think one can pay the bills or survive on the low payment received for either donation.

There is a difference between donating blood and donating plasma. You can donate plasma more frequently, because your blood is taken out of your body, the plasma is filtered out, and the red blood cells are infused back into your body. Your body can replenish plasma quicker than red blood cells.

You can get paid for plasma donation, but blood donation is strictly voluntary and you are not paid for it (but a great thing to do).

Not sure how much you get paid for plasma (used to be $20 dollars), but probably not something you could count on for a large sum of money.

yeah i had friends who have done it, and they pay you for the plasma, not the blood. i wasnt going to do it as a permanent thing, it was just a thought for a few extra bucks in my pocket right now.

Sell blood, buy food to eat/survive.:D

Once within 48 hours and no more than two times a week is the absolute maximum number of times you are allowed to donate plasma - that's set by FDA regulations. How much you get paid and when depends on the blood center. Call ahead or visit to find out the specifics at the center nearest you.

First visit may take up to two hours, then after that the time is shorter (typically an hour). During that time, your collected whole blood is 'spun down', the plasma (the liquid part of the blood that carries your red blood cells) is collected and all of your red blood cells are returned to you. That's why you can donate plasma so often. When you donate whole blood - plasma plus red blood cells that are not returned - you need to wait six weeks to donate again so your body can replenish the red blood cells. Donated plasma is replenished within two days.

I'm a critical care nurse - the plasma you give not only can help you financially, it helps patients who need plasma tremendously and can save a life!

I'm a critical care nurse - the plasma you give not only can help you financially, it helps patients who need plasma tremendously and can save a life!

I work in cardiovascular surgery, and I second this. Although we salvage the blood lost during our surgeries, wash it and give it back to the patient, the plasma and platelets do not get saved and regiven. So for every so much of the patient's own cells they get back, we give donated plasma and platelets.

And I just learned you can give platelets on the times in between giving blood, so I plan to do that the next time I catch the platelet collection van at Walmart.


Please give, even if they don't pay you for it. It will do your soul good if nothing else.

I tried donating plasma once, but the night before, a person offered me a beer so I dranked it. That disqualified me.

When the big Tasumi hit back in what was it Dec. 26, 2004, I donated blood. I was over there when it happened. Blood was in high demand. When I showed up at the Red Cross so did a filming crew. I got on TV for that. If you think we have it bad, those people really had it bad. What surrised me was how much the USA censored the pictured coming out of that area.

I would rather donate blood than plasma. I used to donate blood every 6 weeks & never took a dime for it. I gave plasma once & will never do that again. It was like being on a torture machine of being mummyfied & was very painful circulating & putting blood back into you but keeping the plasma...Never again will I do that. All of the other people doing it were also not enjoying it & were complaining. I took the money that time.

They can take my blood then figure out how to get the plasma that way but they are not going to circulate it like that.

I would not count on doing that as a paycheck but I will bet you a lof of people do it for the money & you get extra if you can deal with just the plasma.

Sell blood, buy food to eat/survive.:D

I vant tasuck yablood:D

or we could just drink blood like vampires do for nourishment.

I'm a critical care nurse - the plasma you give not only can help you financially, it helps patients who need plasma tremendously and can save a life!

Are you a nice nurse or are you a mean nurse?:)

Are you a nice nurse or are you a mean nurse?:)

Isn't there a "Rolling eyes" emoticon somewhere on here? LOL :D

Are you a nice nurse or are you a mean nurse?:) A nice nurse, of course!! :angel: (wink! :) )

Gives a whole new meaning of "you can't get blood from a stoned".

I have been considering this myself...however, I haven't heard it's the most pleasant experience, and I'm kind of a wuss when it comes to needles.
How is the actual process...worth the pain/discomfort vs. working part time at Taco Bell?
I like the idea of it because the time/pay ratio is actually better than a part-time second job for me, but not sure I could stand doing it. Donating plasma, pain in the arm...second job, pain in the ass!

I hear you get paid usually $20 for your first time, an $30 for your second. so you could earn up to $200 a month, but also I hear some places also you give you a return bonus for being a frequent doner. don't quote me on that, because I think it might just be a few places that do it.

The needle is huge. They actually turn people away because their veins are too small, and often, they turn people away after they have already been waiting for several hours. In my experience, it seems like about half of the people who show up are rejected for one reason or another.

It's not the most pleasant process. It feels as though you are in the Matrix (where all the bodies are hooked up). At the place I went, it never took as little as an hour, even with an appointment. Usually, it took 2 to 3 hours.

As for doing that or working at Taco Bell, I think I'd rather "donate." But, beware, if you earn more than $600 from one place, you will get a 1099 in the mail at the beginning of the year. A lot of people assume that it's tax free income, but it's not, and if you earn more than $400, you can get hit with self employment tax too. Ofcourse, if you don't get a 1099, then it's all on your good word to claim it as income.

Also, at the place I went, you would earn a $15 credit for each referral. So, when you are waiting in line in the morning before the place opens (and the line starts forming an hour early for walk ins), talk to the folks around you in line, and if they are new, give them your name and ask that they put you down as a referral.

Every place has their own compensation plan, so you can just call and ask what it is. If you go, make sure you have a photo ID and proof of residency, such as a utility bill. I'm pretty sure they do this to help in enforcing the FDA requirements that restrict how often you can donate.

Thanks, Joe. This is a last resort, for sure.
How about donating sperm? That seems a bit more pleasant ;)

How about donating sperm? That seems a bit more pleasant ;)

Priceless reply!

My husband did this for money a couple of times before I met him. He showed me his scars (one on each arm) from the massive needle they use. I quickly decided I wouldn't be doing that!

i donate plasma twice a week, where i go you can only do it twice in 7 days, 50 bucks a week, it depends on your weight too, the less you weigh the less you get. i havent had any adverse effects. as long as you can deal with the needles. the thing i hate the most is getting stuck in the same hole multiple times, ouch. but hey it equals out to be about 10 bucks an hour, not a bad part time job.

I donated plasma a couple of months ago. I got $35 for it but I haven't done it since and I'm not sure if I would. I'm not very good with needles generally but this seemed to be a bit worse than the regular needles I'm used to.
After the process I felt a little light headed and dizzy for a while.
It may have just been that I had a one off bad experience. A couple of other people who were there when I was seemed to be doing fine with it.
Anyway, to get some more info and find donation centers you can go to this plasma donation information article (http://www.survivalinsight.com/articles/plasma-donation-for-money.html)

has anyone around here done anything like this? i just thought of this! where i live they have plasma centers where they pay you to donate, i think you have to go like 2-3 times a week, but you make an extra 200 a month. i was thinking about giving it a try.

I donated twice a week for about 6 months. It wasn't to bad, but like others have said, you really don't make all that much money. I stopped donating because the place I went to was taking over 2 hours to get me in and out. They were so disorganized that I could sit for 20 minutes before getting the check up then getting to the back room, then sat another 10-20 minutes to get stuck, 50 minutes donating and getting saline, then another 10-20 minutes for disconnect.

I didn't feel $50 a week was worth the time, discomfort, boredom, and drive.

Do any of you know if the rules for donation are the same as they are for blood? I guess they should be. I'm on a permanent deferment for giving blood because my ex was from Nigeria. He hasn't been there since 1981, and we both tested negative for everything under the sun, but they still won't take my blood at blood banks. Anyone know about this?

Do any of you know if the rules for donation are the same as they are for blood? I guess they should be. Here are the American Red Cross's current restrictions for blood donation - http://www.redcross.org/en/eligibility

For up-to-date information or clarifying opinions and rules about American Red Cross rules about Blood donor deferrals, you can call 1-800-448-3543.

Thank you, lrprn. That answered my question

Do any of you know if the rules for donation are the same as they are for blood? I guess they should be. I'm on a permanent deferment for giving blood because my ex was from Nigeria. He hasn't been there since 1981, and we both tested negative for everything under the sun, but they still won't take my blood at blood banks. Anyone know about this?

They are really stict about plasma. If you have the slightest wound or infection, they will reject you. The time detail "since 1981" might be influential. You could make an appointment to see. I was rejected, but they were really nice and gave me 15$ for my time. Not bad. Bring a book, it takes a long time.

I've donated plasma twice in my life when I was around 17 or 18. I think I might have received around $50 for the two times in total. Where I am now there are so many crackheads that the old plasma center they had here was shut down years ago. Probably because everything they were getting was contaminated. :( I would gladly do it though.

I did this back in college. A friend of mine told me about it, and of course she got some extra $$ for referring me. So I started doing twice a week, and brought along my cousin and her friend and got extra $$ for them. I did it for about 4 months or so. No, it's not "pleasant" but....desperate times call for desperate measures?!

Then sometime last year we were in a pinch and I decided to go, I went twice, made $75 b/c they were having a special. That really helped us out with our electricity bill. Haven't been back since b/c I am pregnant.