My friend and I have been going and donating plasma for the last couple of weeks just for some extra cash, because why not?
I've gone I think 5 times now and I have managed to make an extra $300 doing it. How much you get paid varies by facility.
the process is really not bad.. here's a little bit about how it goes...
Once you get to the plasma center you check in. Where we have been going all you have to do is go up and scan your fingerprint. There is a computer screen and It brings up your file and it starts to ask you a series of about 15 questions. Now these questions are always the same but they try to trick you by putting them in a different order each time so you can’t go on autopilot (they are yes and no questions). The questions are stupid. Have you had sex with someone who has AIDS? Have you traveled to Congo since 1972? Have you used needles within the last three months? Are you feeling well and healthy today? Have you used dangerous drugs? Have you had sex with a prostitute? I am not kidding, these are the types of questions they ask. If you answer all the questions with the proper answers you go onto the next step, if you don’t then someone from the staff comes over to you at your computer and re-reads the question(s) that you did not pay enough attention to and you look like a dumbass in front of everyone haha!
After you pass the questionnaire you get called up to be weighed. Sometimes this goes quickly, sometimes you have to wait a long time. After you are weighed you then have your blood pressure taken and your blood drawn. In order to do this, they prick your finger. No matter how many times I donate, I haven't gotten used to this. The anticipation of the needle clicking makes me anxious. In my opinion, that's the worst part. After the blood pressure and blood collection tests are done, you wait to make sure you passed. This is never a for sure. I have seen people get rejected because their iron levels are not high enough or their blood pressure is too high. I have seen people cuss out the staff before because they were not allowed to donate on a certain day because they did not meet the requirements. I get it- that sucks.. you go through some of the process-the finger stick to be exact only to be told that you can't donate today and you lose out on the extra say$20-$75 (in some cases) you were hoping to get for your time, but come on there's no need to act like a child and throw a fit.
If you do make it past the blood tests you go and sit down next to one of the plasma machines, called a bed. Then, a person who sets you up and sticks you, called a phlebotomist, comes over. He/she hooks the machine up and checks to make sure you fit the chart that someone else on staff has brought over. Once your identity is confirmed they hook you up to the machine by taping a tube to your arm, just as if you were giving blood. The phlebotomist then tells you to start pumping your hand. After a few pumps he/she tells you to hold it and then they stick you with a rather large needle into your vein. Some phlebotomists are good at sticking people and the discomfort is minimal, though I have seen some people let out a little discomfort when getting stuck. I work as a phlebotomist- sometimes it hurts, sometimes it doesn't. I think it really depend on your pain tolerance more then anything. After the needle is inside you, they hook it up to the tube and the plasma collecting process starts.
What happens is the machine draws your blood but it sorts out the plasma. By the time your donation is over, the machine will have returned all of your blood. When donating there are action and resting phases. When the lights of the machine are turned on it is the action phase and you have to pump your hand continuously for about five minutes. The lights will then go off and you will get to rest for a few minutes as blood is transferred back into you. Then the lights go back on and it is another five minutes of pumping. You actually watch your plasma go into a container. Once the container is full, you are done. At the point that you are done, the phlebotomist will come collect the container and then press a button that allows blood, water, and other nutrients to go back into your body. After that is completed, you are finished donating and it is time to get paid. The whole donation process of actually giving your plasma takes a little over an hour.
Although you're not supposed to use your camera while donating I decided to be a rebel so I can share it with the steemit world haha
Hope enjoyed this post!
Donating plasma and blood is often called 'the gift of life' so get out there and donate!!