I definitely wasn’t inspired by the post by that guy interested in selling their kidney /s
I’ve donated for a few months at a time back when I was dirt broke. In the short term the extra money can be a lifeline but in the long term it has more health risks associated that I’m comfortable with. There’s a lot of conflicting pressures in the actual donor center too. On the one hand they need you to donate at least twice per month to even get enough plasma that it can go to an eligible donor, and they incentivize you coming back as many times per month as is legal; I think it’s 8-10 times per month. On the other hand donating that much clearly isn’t healthy if you aren’t in excellent shape yourself. Do it too much will will make you more anemic and increase your overall fatigue, weakens your immune system, can lead to scarring in your elbows and a fuck ton of other lower chance but more serious complications.
As a Linux nerd, I thought you’re talking about KDE Plasma lol
I will take those chuckles out of your post if you don’t mind.
Sure you can :)
If you don’t need the money desperately and have the opportunity, consider donating blood instead.
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Pros: u get money Cons: human traffickers can make ton of money
Whoah, am I missing something here about plasma companies? Yikes
What? How? I’ve never heard of any link between blood plasma and human trafficking. Can you share a source or am I reading too much into your comment?
My guess would be traffickers selling the plasma of their “livestock”.
But by donating you’d increase the supply and they’d make less money, so that doesn’t quite check out.
So I worked at a plasma donation center and in a hospital. I will tell you that the training at the donation place I was at was very brief and you are somewhat practice for many new phlebotomists. I will also say I cared for at least two patients that were hospitalized after people missed their sticks at the donation centers and the patients had infections, pain, and huge vascular issues after that.
That being said many people do it and it turns out just fine. It’s easy money if you can tolerate it. But I would not recommend it, as it can eventually cause scarring to your veins and it may be difficult to start an IV when you are older and actually really need that access site.
Yeah, I have craters in my arm from donating. They always had trouble on my left, and would mess up pretty frequently on the other. As @loopy says, some of them are very green, so don’t hesitate to ask them to get some help! I got to the point I could direct them. Also, it can definitely zap your energy, especially if you are dehydrated, so lots of coconut water was always my trick. The potassium really helps rehydrate faster than water
pros: money
cons: needles (some folks have a phobia), track marks/scarring, possibly infections.
The marks/scarring thing is real. I need regular blood draws and infusions (iron deficiency anemia), and I look like a drug user just because my elbows always have marks, and I’m pretty sure the left one is scarred after I needed a blood transfusion a couple months back.
As somebody who has now needed a blood transfusion, thank you, donors! Please donate if you can. In addition to people needing them for injuries and childbirth, some of our bodies are just shit at making our own blood.
I went in feeling perfectly fine for a donation. Later that day I noticed I had a cold developing which later turned into a bit more. But since I JUST donated plasma it made me feel like absolute shit. Can’t remember every symptom that it added, but I know I had very little energy and it took longer to recover.
So as a con, if you are unlucky and donate while feeling fine but coming down with something it is going to hit you hard. And since most places have you donate twice a week your odds are higher of having that happen compared to donating blood (which is usually every other month I think). They do take your temp and ask if you feel fine prior to the donation… But there be a loop hole.
Another con I haven’t seen mentioned is they can get busy. My local one was starting to see hour long waits to get seated. Which sucked as it is, but since you are usually hydrating extra that day by the time you get done you REALLY need to go. Place took appointments, but they were pointless as you could make your appointment while sitting in the car outside the building.
Also, not sure if related but when I first started it was very easy to draw blood for me and it went pretty quick. By the end it took them longer to stick me, sometimes multiple tries and my time donating increased a lot with far more errors to clear an air pocket or something. Luckily I started donating blood instead and it seems like my veins are easier to find again and the machine rarely gives an error.
I wouldn’t recommend it overall.
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Another question: do track marks associated with donating blood look similar to track marks seen in IV drug abuse?
Pros: Easy, low effort money. If you care about track marks, don’t treat this as anything but a supplemental income source. Otherwise will you start having to decide between track marks and making rent.
Track Marks: Make sure you swap the arm getting jabbed every time, and when you notice them start to develop, give it a break for awhile. If you are selling plasma twice a week, you can start to notice them even within a month.
Plasma Replenishment: Takes a day or so with solid liquids. Make sure you are drinking water regularly. They will pump you full of saline, which replaces most of the water, but it doesn’t always cut it. If your water levels are too low you might get rejected for the day. Also, some places will put that saline in at room temperature; your arm will feel like it’s full of ice cubes for 10 min.
Also, how much are y’all selling your plasma for?
It can vary depending on the area you are in and the demand. I haven’t gone in for a few years and am now getting email with a promotion which would pay out $700 for all the donations for the month. It’s a little tempting to be honest. After I get through the first month I think it was about $70 a week with various promotions designed to encourage you to come in twice a week for the whole month.
Pro you can get hammered with just a bit of alcohol.
