Skip to main content

Replies sorted oldest to newest

i dont know how this one works but usually you are payed for plasma, you can donate it. but mostly you are payed for it, some places the law doesnt allow for payment so you are payed for your "time" its not a bad thing to do, they use it to make medicine and whatnot you sit there watch a movie get some pedicure or live bait money....when i was in school i did it all the time the one in nashville had a liquer store in the same building. many nilly widgets found that really handy lol
I have given blood numerous times locally at both the Red Cross and LifeSouth. I have not given plasma (other than as a component of whole blood) at either facility, but I would if they had a special need for it. Either of these organizations will accept plasma. I believe there also is some kind of system where they can accept donations of platelets, but it takes a good bit of time--more than the time for a conventional blood donation, since they must return the other blood fractions back to your system.

I do not hold any ill will toward those who sell their blood or plasma, but personally I can not bring myself to accept payment. In Nashville, where I grew up, there was a commercial blood bank that paid donors, and the people coming in and out of that business looked like real down-and-outers. Some of them obviously had been drinking; you could smell it on them. I suspect that the incidence of such conditions as hepatitis is greater among the more desperate classes of donors, so I just hope the methods for testing are good enough to catch infected blood. I know that the Red Cross does and LifeSouth do all the reasonable things they can do to avoid collecting blood from infected persons.

MORE PEOPLE SHOULD BE DONATING BLOOD! If you are healthy, you should volunteer. There is only minimal discomfort--far less than having a tooth filled. I encourage everyone reading this to become a regular blood donor if you are not already one. It is one simple, undemanding thing you can do with assurance that your blood will help someone who needs it or who needs the various products processed from it. You will feel good afterward knowing that you have helped others!
Last edited by beternU
The payment for blood products lost favor in 1980's with the emergence of HIV. Blood which is used for component therapy (red cells, fresh frozen plasma, platelets and cryoprecipitate) are collected at places such Red Cross and Lifesouth, from non paid donors. The collection of platelets is called pheresis and takes a little longer than giving the standard unit of blood.
Plasma collection, similar to pheresis, for which you are paid, is typically used in pharmacy type applications where the plasma is treated or altered in some way, this is not the same product that one receives during surgery or blood loss replacement. The donor selection is not quite as rigorous or it has not been in the past. I am amazed that the collection center is doing so well, but in these tough economic times, it is not surprising.
I do however hope it does not cut down on the "free" giving that people do thru the Red Cross and particularly Lifesouth, since they are the primary provider for blood products in this area.
I called and checked. You have to get a physical there (they check for needle marks, disease, etc); said it takes a couple of hours the first visit. Yes you can give twice a week. Mind you these are just the platelets and you should still be able to "give" blood at other times as well. Not sure how long you have to wait in between. Christmas is coming; I might start myself a "Christmas Fund" Wink
quote:
Originally posted by redbull:
I called and checked. You have to get a physical there (they check for needle marks, disease, etc); said it takes a couple of hours the first visit. Yes you can give twice a week. Mind you these are just the platelets and you should still be able to "give" blood at other times as well. Not sure how long you have to wait in between. Christmas is coming; I might start myself a "Christmas Fund" Wink

redbull, the process is similar, but it does not collect the platelets. The pletelets are the small fragments used in blood clotting, to sort of stop up the hole if you will. What they are collecting is the watery fluid in the blood which does not contain any of the rec cells, white cells, nor platelets, sort of the egg white in an egg if you will. Therefore your platelet count should not drop much if any after giving. You replace the plasma in a few hours of eating and drinking of fluids.
Lifesouth has a platelet pheresis unit which collects the platelets in a similar time frame. It is hard to get platelet donors in this area because it takes an hour or two to do this, and you don't get paid.

Add Reply

Post

Untitled Document
×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×