Earning extra $ for hunting addiction.

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Dec 30, 2012
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One way to earn some extra cash for hunting gear and gas expense is by donating plasma.

I had a guy ask about this so I thought I would post up my experience with it for everyone else to consider it.

I donated with this place. http://www.biolifeplasma.com/

There may be others in your area, so check around.

Also the rate at which they pay varies by area, number of donators and demand for plasma.

I made $50 a week, $20 on the first visit and $30 on the second in the same week. If you skip the second visit in the same week, the next donation pays $20. So it pays to hit that second donation in the same week.

They have promotions pretty often that pay a bonus, such as an extra $15 or $20 on your 6th donation for the same month, it varies, but you get the idea.

If I recall correctly there has to be at least 48 hours between donations and you can only donate twice in the same week.

On your initial visit you get a full physical and checkup along with quite a few questions about your health history, drug use, tattoos etc.. They will also do blood tests for blood borne diseases.

Think about this carefully before you agree to it, if you start it and you know you will get rejected, don't do it. They will flag you in their national database on what condition you have. Meaning your private health information will no longer be quite as private.

If you get the okay, you set up your appointments, either in the center or online, your choice, you can plan a couple weeks ahead if you want to. You walk in and hit a computer terminal. Sign is done with fingerprint, then you answer a series of questions about tattoos, drug use, sexual activities, diseases and illness. Then they weigh you, check to see if you have donated recently (they paint some kind of IR paint on one of your fingernails that takes 24 hours to wear off). Then they check vitals and do a blood test.

One of the blood tests is blood protein. If you fall out of range on any of the tests you get sent home. Fail the tests too often and you get flagged and rejected, no more donations.

If you pass all the tests they send you back into the donation area and you lay on a chair that looks like a kicked back recliner. A large bore needle is inserted into a vein. (Another test done at the beginning, they make sure you have good veins)

This both draws the blood and puts it back into your body after the plasma is filtered out, also you get some anti coagulant along with it. It has a metallic taste to it and is cold when it hits you, when you feel that chill you know you are done. Donation takes roughly an hour, but can vary depending on how big you are, hence you can donate more and how good your vein is.

I had them alternate from one arm to the other so each had a full week to heal up. If you bruise, they use the other arm, if both arms are bruised, you get sent home. If the tech does a lousy job of putting the needle in, you will get bruised.

They usually have WiFi so you can bring a Kindle or iPad to watch movies or read.

On your way out, you hit a computer terminal again by signing in with your fingerprint, complete the final questions, set up your next appointment if you didn't already and get paid.

Payment goes onto a debit card, which works exactly like a credit card. You can use it to order stuff, get gas etc..

Some people don't deal with the donations very well, it wipes them out physically the rest of the day. Be sure to get lots of water, healthy food with plenty of protein and get lots of sleep. I usually had a good sized meal with a lot of water then took a nap right after donating, which helped recovery really well.

Drink lots of water before you go into donate. The blood will come out quicker and you won't feel so woozy afterwards. Be warned though, once you hit that chair and get plugged in, you cannot leave it, so take a leak before you sit down.

All told two donations took about 4 hours total time each week, that was travel to the center and back home again and time at the center, including testing, donating and waiting afterwards.

Oh and it's tax free. :)
 
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littlebuf

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Feb 24, 2012
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Think I'll stick to working an extra 1/2 hour of over time for another 50 bucks a week. But good info
 

5MilesBack

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Feb 27, 2012
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I think I'll stick to digging ditches, mending fence, and bucking hay for $1.25/hour........but thanks.:)

Actually back in college (25+ years ago), I did some drug studies that paid very well. They tested different types of pain killers and then took blood samples all day.......wasn't bad at all. Especially for the $300-$350 for the 6-8 hour day. Righteous bucks for a poor college kid. But could only do them every 3 months.
 

2ski

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I got paid to wash my hands every half hour or so for about three hours back in college. $100. I think they pay more than that now. They put a harmless bacteria on your hands and then test soaps to see how well they kill the bacteria. I know that lab does another test where they have to shave your...buddies down below your waist. I think that one pays $300 or so. I know one of the lab techs that does the shaving, so that might be a little uncomfortable.
 

realunlucky

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My sergeant gave plasma every week and invested it for retirement said he had 620,000 when he retired so he must have done something right.
 

boom

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kudos to finding the means to fuel the obsession.

how do they pull blood? i had some issues where i had to give monthly blood samples for test. the tech really worried about scarring in my arm vein. apparently they can get used so much they are not viable entry points anymore. is this a problem for twice a week donations?
 
OP
D
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North Idaho
kudos to finding the means to fuel the obsession.

how do they pull blood? i had some issues where i had to give monthly blood samples for test. the tech really worried about scarring in my arm vein. apparently they can get used so much they are not viable entry points anymore. is this a problem for twice a week donations?

They use a large bore IV needle. I didn't have problems with scarring, but the anticoagulants seem to make you heal slower, thus the reason I had them switch arms each time. The tech did flub the needle insertion one time and I bruised really bad on that arm and had to use the other arm for every donation for a couple weeks after that.

You will be checked for good veins, if you do not have them, you will be rejected.

I had to stop going because I have a serious inner ear problem and it seemed the regular drops in blood pressure and glucose weren't a very good mix for me. :)

A ride in the ambulance to the emergency room tends to negate large chunks of profit earned.

As I said, not everyone can tolerate this.

But like myself, I know many guys are on a tight budget and always on the prowl for ideas to earn some extra money.
 

Jon Boy

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May 25, 2012
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I did it for a little while to pay for my trip this year. It got to the point where it would just wipe me out and I wouldnt want to work out or do much of anything so I stopped.
 

SDHNTR

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Seriously? I thing I'll just make one extra phone call per day. Or go cut firewood. Crazy.
 

TEmbry

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I can honestly say you couldn't pay me $100 for 4hrs/week of going through all that. Half that?!

Whatever works though man.
 
Joined
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Colorado
I'd sell my body first haha. Like I said had friends that did it and they would be exhausted and run down. Then they would inevitably get sick as a dog.
 
Joined
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I donated plasma when I was in college. It was kinda rough. They trashed my veins a couple of times and I had late bruises for months. I still have scars today from it. It takes a lot of work. Haha. Got to drink a lot of water to make it go by faster. Worked while in college but don't think I would do it my whole life for retirement!
 
Joined
Apr 28, 2012
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San Jose, California, United States
That’s just hard core, getting extra money for hunting. I donate blood at Stanford but they will only accept it every 56 days for whole blood. It does not affect me at that rate. I could imagine giving blood twice a week could take its toll after a while.
 
OP
D
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North Idaho
Plasma is different than whole blood.

They do it in increments, they draw out some blood, filter out the plasma, then put the blood back into your bloodstream, they repeat this cycle varied by how big you are, a larger person has more blood, so they can donate more.

You bounce back faster from donating plasma than you do whole blood, which is why you can donate more often.
 
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