Need a bit of extra cash? Seriously.

[Voice for Peace]

Consider 'donating' plasma.

I put 'donating' in quotes because they pay you for
your plasma. It in fact is a multimillion dollar industry
but it's also a lifesaving fluid. A win-win.

Where I live, there is an offer for new donors: the
first 5 donations they pay $50 each time.

Yesterday was my first session and the place was
busy, so I was there for several hours; but I walked
out with fifty bucks, and my cats were glad to have
some food. Tomorrow I will go again and it will
fill up my gas tank. People can donate twice a week.
After the first visit, it takes less than an hour.. not
a bad hourly wage. Even if it's beyond the first
five donations, they still pay $20 per donation.

You can continue indefinitely as long as you have
no disqualifying factors. This is in Albuquerque, NM
but I am sure there are comparable programs in every
city. This is the place http://www.bplplasma.com/
but there are other companies as well.

A fairly easy bit of cash, and also helps people who
need plasma. Plus you get a free checkup and blood
screening.

I received a promotional offer post card months
ago, and have intended to check it out since then.
I kept putting it off for stupid reasons. It was easy
and even a nice experience, the staff was great,
there were a lot of good people donating. It
was a sweet slice of humanity, people who need
money.

[Kalidurga]

1. If you can do this it can be the difference between

making ends meet or not. I did it when times were tough and my oldest daughter did it when she was making barely above minimum wage. She manages a Caribou Coffee store now, so she's making ends meet pretty well.

[shenmue]

2. I used to do that in graduate school

after I lost my job and I needed spare cash. It's not a bad idea.

[FSogol]

4. Same here. I donated all thru college to help pay for incidentals. n/t

[Nay]

9. Yeah, I did that in college, too. It really helped. nt

[Sparhawk60]

48. Same Here

I did this as well in school. Good way to make a few bucks.

[Aerows]

3. It says avoid fatty foods

I drink a lot of milk - 1%, though. I wonder if that would make me ineligible.

[Lochloosa]

5. If it's 1% i don't think that will matter.

[Voice for Peace]

7. no.. there isn't much that makes you ineligible.

They suggest you eat before going, but not to eat
a fatty meal. They're talking red meat and fries
kinda fatty. Not 1% milk.

[Aerows]

10. I was thirsty this morning

I drank ... like a quart of 1%. I know it sounds crazy, but it settles my stomach and gives me energy. I pretty much drink milk as a substitute for breakfast because it's quick and fills me up.

[Voice for Peace]

12. I don't think that would be considered a fatty meal.

If you added fried eggs, homefries, and bacon.. now there
is a nice fatty breakfast. With toast and butter.

I personally couldn't digest it, but I think that's what they
mean.

If the milk is working for you I don't see any reason
for concern. No two bodies are the same.

[former9thward]

17. I have donated all my life.

Not to the companies that pay you but the freebies like the Red Cross, etc. And nothing you eat/drink will make you ineligible (unless those long term lead to health issues that can cause you to be ineligible).

[Voice for Peace]

25. I hadn't heard until recently about donating plasma.

Very different process than whole blood.

[Bluenorthwest]

6. They refuse donations from gay people.

And that includes actual no charge donations.

[Voice for Peace]

8. I don't know about that.

They ask if you engage in any high risk behavior; but there
is nothing explicit about being gay. And I think if a person
is confident they are not engaging in high risk behavior,
there's a way to get in.

I'm not advocating dishonesty, just careful wording of the
truth.

[Bluenorthwest]

13. Here is news from today, and it is progress....

"After 31 years of barring blood donations from men who have had sex with other men, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is set to revisit the policy this week, and potentially lift one of the last remaining federal bans on gay Americans."
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/fda-revisit-ban-blood-donations-gay-and-bisexual-men


Would not have seen that story if not for your OP, so thanks!

[Voice for Peace]

15. Thanks for the post! Your previous post was concerning so I'm glad there's progress.

[Blue_Tires]

11. wouldn't donating sperm or eggs get more bang for the buck?

I was getting more $$$ as a sperm donor in college almost 20 years ago

[Voice for Peace]

14. That's more for younger folks. Egg donation isn't quite the same as sperm donation, also..

there's no bang.

For sperm donation, most places don't want men over
forty. For eggs, it's even younger.. early thirties.

But most of us keep on making good plasma into old
age.

[Snarkoleptic]

16. I recently signed up for both Gigwalk and Field Agent.

They are apps that pay you for small tasks like taking pix of restaurants/menus, retail store product displays, etc.
I have not yet taken on my first assignments, but I drive for work and lots of the local assignments overlay my travel zone, so I'm hoping to pull in a few bucks.
Most of these jobs take 5-10 minutes and pay $4-$8, which is sent via paypal.

Anyone ever try these or other similar apps?

[Voice for Peace]

18. I don't have a smart phone but passed the link on to a young friend looking for ways to make money.

I'd love to hear how it goes, if you are happy with it
after some time.

[Snarkoleptic]

19. It sounds promising, but the devil is in the details, so we'll see how it goes.

I just spotted several jobs @ $10/each where you have to go to area bars, enter beer prices and answer 14 questions. Hope they're multiple choice, as I'm all thumbs when it comes to typing on my phone.

[Curmudgeoness]

20. Great idea. It is a win/win.

I looked to see if there is anything close to me, and there is only one place about 20 miles away. They do not publicize how much they pay, but looking a little further (50 mile radius), it looks like it is about $20. Still not bad if you need money.

And the added benefit of getting a check up and blood work for free is definitely a plus.

I wonder if they pay more for certain blood types than others, and that is why they don't publish reimbursements.

[Beartracks]

21. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think blood type has no bearing on plasma.

Plasma is a component of blood, but it's not part of what makes the blood one "type" or another.

===================

[magical thyme]

50. plasma contains the antibodies to antigens (RBC surface proteins)

and plasma type is the same as RBC type. Type may or may not be a factor in how much a company is willing to pays, but it most certainly is as much factor when actually transfusing plasma as when transfusing RBCs.

[Voice for Peace]

26. I don't think the blood type is a factor. And it's my understanding some places

pay more than others. This $250 for 5 donations is the
current special at this place, for new donors.

[slumcamper]

22. REJECTED! (a little levity here)

In these times of unbridled madness and the incomprehensibility of things all around us, e.g., police militarization, assassination of fellow citizens, ideological and fiscal wars against women and the poor, rejection of science and denials of anthropocenic global warming, "corporations are people, my friend," and other outrages ad nauseum, it is heartening that sometimes, still, there is cause to laugh.

I experienced a brain aneurysm in 2002 and, surviving the initial rupture, underwent a 10 hour emergency neurosurgery, and was discharged from the hospital 3 weeks later. Aside from a half-shaven head and occasional manic tendencies, I emerged in better physical and psychological condition than I'd been in since my 20s! After rigorous (fanatical) fitness regime I returned to my job in education research and development a month later.

The Bush years sucked hugely but like many of us I grimaced and endured...the sway of Big Oil, the idiocy, and graft that renders the Teapot Dome Scandal a fading asterisk in history ("pallets of hundred dollar bills LOST in Iraq??). I sighed and occasionally cried as my fellow citizens--disproportionately black and Latino--were sent to a living hell half a world away.

Amid this national miasma I immersed myself in "Jeep culture." Attendant with that obsession came another: mobile audio. A mortgage, student loans, credit payments, and kids on the verge of college pretty much tapped our financial resources, yet my desire for high voltage head units, clean amps, subwoofers and high-end speakers only grew. One morning as I drove past the "plasma place" in Iowa City (students queued up as the door before 8 am), it occurred to me that the financial path to my audio needs was there! Next day, I entered the fray, a 40-something audiophile amid 20-somethings seeking cash for Ramen noodles, 12 pack, and perhaps a biweekly pizza!

As if that weren't disconcerting enough, imagine how I felt when they REJECTED me as a donor! In truth I had answered the questionnaire and indicated that I'd received a bone adhesive. Indeed, the doctors had glued a silver-dollar sized "plug" of cranium back into place after my surgery. No matter that I had survived; for some reason this disqualified me from the plasma donation center!

As I reflect on this I'm compelled to laugh out loud. I deal with rejection well. But you know, seriously, they could have procured some especially good plasma!

Running Kenwood 4 amp, 50 watt head unit with dual low-outs, driving Infinity Kappa 6X9 (rear boxed), Kappa 6.5 (soundbar), and Kappa 5.25 (dash), powered by Polk Audio 50w X 4 channel, and Blaupunkt 2 channel bridged mono to Apline 12-inch ported sub in Wrangler. CLEAN, loud, chillin'.

[Voice for Peace]

27. LOL.. oh well. I don't know what the science is behind the rejection.

But they do ask if you've had any kind of non medical implants,
or received blood, and so on. It sounds odd that you would have
been rejected.

Maybe today you wouldn't be, if you're still looking for that audio.

[Curmudgeoness]

30. Non medical implants?????

What is that? A bullet that they were not able to remove when someone was shot? A stake through the heart?

[Voice for Peace]

32. lolol good question! I assumed they meant microchip implants

but probably I wouldn't know even if I had one.

[Voice for Peace]

45. I went again yesterday and they have a question

I didn't quite get the wording but it was very specific
regarding a skull plug...

Also cut off age at this place is my 66th birthday so
I have a few more years.

[Curmudgeoness]

52. Skull plug?

I think I need one of those. As I get older, I feel as if my brains are leaking out.

Did they explain what the problem is with older donors?

[Voice for Peace]

53. I didn't get the lowdown on the plasmageism.

Somebody else in the thread mentioned being rejected
for a skull plug. I don't know why but I think I could use
one too. What?

[Voice for Peace]

49. Yesterday when I went in again

They asked me a very specific question regarding
a cranium plug. I still don't know what it's about, but
it's a thing.

[randome]

23. Nothing in Missouri for BPL.

But I donate platelets every 2 weeks at the Red Cross. Blood, platelets or plasma, it's good for your own health as well as for that of others'.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Birds are territorial creatures.
The lyrics to the songbird's melodious trill go something like this:
"Stay out of my territory or I'll PECK YOUR GODDAMNED EYES OUT!"[/center][/font][hr]

[Voice for Peace]

28. BPL may not be there but there is more than one Plasma gathering corporation

http://www.yellowpages.com/jackson-ms/plasma-donation-centers

one quickly googled linky

[randome]

35. Interesting. There's one not too far from me.

Last edited Wed Dec 3, 2014, 12:01 PM - Edit history (1)

I wonder if I can donate plasma and continue to donate platelets. I'll have to investigate. I'm not in dire need of the money, though, so I'll also need to see which can do the most good. Thanks for the info.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]TECT in the name of the Representative approves of this post.[/center][/font][hr]

[dotymed]

24. Did any of us ever imagine

that our "twilight years" would be this economically unstable? I didn't.
I finished college, tried a few possibilities, joined a good Union doing work that I loved (and was healthy enough to do at the time).
My 401k tanked. My heart gave out....life of the less than rich and infamous. Oh well, no plasma donations here. As long as my Union survives ( it now represents members in 4 states instead of one) I guess I'll get my pension.
Hey, the wealthy are doing phenomenally though.
Too bad my political party no longer represents the hoi polloi.
Bernie,,,,

[Voice for Peace]

29. Are you disqualified for health reason?

It certainly is a challenge finding food day to day.
Not a joke any more.

[Curmudgeoness]

31. The site for the plasma center in my area

states that you can donate if you are between the ages of 18 to 64. The one 50 miles away just said over 18. So....for some reason, some of the centers don't want old people around.

[Voice for Peace]

33. I'll ask when I go back in what that's all about.

Probably older people more prone to making a bloody riot.

[Curmudgeoness]

37. I am not sure that your plasma collection company has that requirement.

The one you use is not anywhere around me, so I didn't check their list of exclusions for donations.

And us older people are often in as good a shape as some of the young people I have seen!!! We rock.

[dotymed]

34. Yes.

Heart disease is a disqualifies me.
I have tried in the past.

[Voice for Peace]

46. :(

sorry.. that you have heart disease, not that you
can't sell your plasma.

[Autumn]

36. Yep Bernie. That so called recovery has done nothing for old folks like us.

It wasn't supposed to be this way.

[Curmudgeoness]

38. Tell me about it.

I lost my job at 61 in September. I have had several interviews, but few last longer than 15 minutes...and I know why. I have been getting a lot of interviews, so I know that my experience and skills are strong. I am resigned to being out of the workforce from here on in---and it wasn't supposed to be this way.

[Autumn]

39. That was the hardest part for me. Interview after interview and watching

young people walk out with the job. The last one I went to was a "group" interview the others were all in their twenty's and there I was in my fifty's , the interviewer asked each of us how issues would be handled in manufacturing and shipping problems. My replies were spot on others, not so much. I really thought I had that one Two of the other people had no experience in the field, one seemed like they had some experience but not much and one was just out of the military. I didn't get the job and that was the last job I ever applied for.

[Curmudgeoness]

41. I hate the look on the interviewer's face

when they first greet me. I just want to give up right there and tell them we don't have to wait their time. I have to keep applying for jobs at this point because I am on unemployment and it is required. If it runs out and I haven't found anything, I am not sure what I will do. I will still be 6 months from early Social Security with nothing coming in, and that is not really an option.

That group interview sounds bizarre. I can't even figure out how that would work without people taking other interviewee's answers.

The most insane thing that I have run into so far is an interview online where you use the Skype feature. They had practice questions for you to refine your technique, like learning to look at the camera lens and then see how you looked before you do the actual interview. I looked like an utter moron---couldn't stop watching myself instead of the camera so it looked like I was looking down, my answers were so monotone that I couldn't even watch it. I didn't even continue to the actual interview because it was obvious that I was never going to make a good impression.

Ugh. This just sucks at a time when life should be an easy ride to retirement.

[Autumn]

42. That was the most bizarre interview I had ever encountered.

I walked out of there and decided then and there I would just be a mooch off my husbands pension until I can get SS because I wasn't going through that again.

[Curmudgeoness]

43. The times I wish I had a husband:

1. To mooch off his wages/pension/SS.
2.

No 2.

[Autumn]

44. I figure he owed it to me

[Recursion]

40. People suggested this when I was very very poor several years ago, but I couldn't find a place

that did it. Maybe MA (where I was living at the time) doesn't allow plasma sales?

[Jesus Malverde]

47. Bump

Damn this thread makes me sad.

Hugs all around.

[deutsey]

51. I struggled financially in college

and would sell my plasma for $10 a pop so I'd have money to do laundry and have a few dollars for minor things.

I worked on-campus, too, but my paycheck went to pay off the balance I owed on tuition.

This was during the Reagan years and I was from a poor background. As broke as I was, I would've been in heaven if they were paying $50 per visit (or the '80s equivalent of $50).