Like most people, I was drawn in by needing extra income. CLS plasma is currently advertising that you can earn up to $1,100 your first month (currently only $825 in Grand Blanc) and has an app with incentives to get you to come as often as possible. There's even a current promotion to earn $150 for each person you refer through the end of October (and they get $100 bonus). I was wooed by the upbeat descriptions and reassurances that side effects were rare and could be avoided by hydrating well and eating enough protein.
My first session went fine. I drank a lot and ate before the visit. My blood pressure at CSL was low, which is the norm for me. At the end of the visit, there was a cheerful "You earned $100 today! You can come back in two days." I was doing the math: $825 the first month = rent and food covered, then after the first month, I could earn about $400 a month or $4,800 a year. I left, ate a high-protein meal immediately, and continued to keep my water bottle close at hand, trying to drink often.
I rested a day and then returned. I had awoken that morning feeling very achy, but I'm disabled, so pain is a regular thing for me. I attributed it to exercise or having missed a Neurontin dose. Otherwise, I was feeling fine. Standing in line at CSL I was in pain and finally asked a streak-haired white woman if I could take a seat in one of the empty booth chairs because I am disabled and was experiencing a lot of pain. She gave me an annoyed sounding "yes." I mentioned that to two workers later who responded with sympathy and professionalism.
During my physical exam, I mentioned I was in a lot of pain but that I'm disabled. When she took my BP, I was stunned to see 150/69. I told her I never have high BP and suggested maybe it was because of pain. She gave me the green light to go ahead and donate plasma.
After the visit, I got another, "You earned $125 today!" Wow. I kept drinking water and ate a high-protein meal.
My vision was blurry that afternoon and evening. I thought that maybe just a regular decline in vision due to computer, artwork, or dry eyes, so I used eye drops. I chalked up my growing stomach discomfort to having eaten the big meal.
All seemed fine until the evening when I suddenly became very nauseated during a phone call. I hung up, had diarrhea while feeling like I was going to vomit, too, and maybe pass out. I made it to the bed and called my friend back. "I think I'm having a reaction to giving plasma," I said. I had managed to see the phone well enough to do some quick googling. It was all adding up--the high BP, pain, blurry vision, foggy thinking, dizzy feeling, and increasingly severe headache. I found electrolyte tablets and started adding them to each water bottle.
I had run across countless articles from reputable sources indicating that giving plasma more often than 28 days is very dangerous, and they clearly and openly listed the many side effects that could occur as well as personal accounts from people who had undergone plasma donation through sites like CSL Plasma that allow you to donate multiple times per week. I learned that the American Red Cross and others do not allow plasma donation more often than every 28 days. The many personal accounts of experiences were shocking. Our FDA doesn't protect us like other countries do.
I recommend you read one very informative article in The Atlantic titled "The Twisted Business of Donating Plasma." Websites mentioned that sites like CSL will put their profits over your health. That seemed to have happened to me when I mentioned my severe pain and had a systolic BP that was 39 mmHg higher than my first visit.
The next day I awoke with with a very dry mouth (still drinking electrolyte water frequently while awake), splitting headache, blurry vision, dizziness, and weakness. I nearly fell several times as I moved around my home. I ate a high-protein meal and took Tylenol and Neurontin.
I started feeling better finally in the evening. The headache had diminished, and vision was improving.
It's now two days after that second plasma donation, and I feel almost back to normal, but still had an episode of blurry vision and nausea.
My recommendation is to NOT visit any of these plasma-for-big-money sites. If you lose your good health, you have nothing and can do nothing. Keep your dignity and fight to climb out of poverty or whatever it is you're facing that has you primarily doing this for money.
And if you still want to give plasma with a primary motivation to help others--NOT money --do your research. If you then choose to still give plasma, give it to a donation center that will only allow you to come in reasonable time period rather than multiple visits per week. That's just not wise. read more
