I started donating plasma to make quick money for a trip and continued to do so once I realized that plasma can not be synthesized and donations are really important. Anyway!
My first visit was the longest. Close to 3 hours total. I had to sign paperwork, get entered into their system, go through screenings and a physical. Then being on the donor floor getting drawn was about 45 minutes of that.
The experience on the floor: you sit in a chair with your feet up next to a machine that reminds me of an 8mm projector. The phlebotomist will insert a 17g needle into the arm of your choice which will draw blood into a machine that centrifuges the plasma away from your blood and pours it into a little collection jug. Then that process stops and switches to returning the red blood cells along with saline to hydrate you. It cycles between those a couple times for about 40-60 minutes, sometimes less sometimes more.
It's a pretty painless procedure, but keep in mind the needle stays there the whole time, it's not a catheter so you can't bend your arm.
Everything is very sterile here and quite comfortable. A lot of the staff and people who donate seem to know each other from coming in regularly and it makes for a less anxious environment.
There is a pretty large divide between people who like to work there and people who don't want to work at all and if I took off any stars, it would be for that but I'm not going to give anyone a reason not to make a significant contribution because the person who does my health screening didn't want to ask about my day or explain every step like I'm a toddler but for some people that can make or break an experience that can be as intimidating as this.
The payout is between 30-100$ a visit depending on if you're a new donor, your weight, and your trip number. Worth it if you're little short on bill money or something. read more