I signed up to donate plasma.

On my kids’ first day back to school I had my first appointment to donate plasma at a center in Austin.

Sign up to donate: https://www.biolifeplasma.com/us/

Let’s get something super clear - I’ve always hated needles, shots, and blood. I was seduced by the idea of $600 in a month just for donating, getting out of the house, and finally, helping people with my donation.

Never in a million years did I think I would volunteer to donate plasma or blood.

At 18 years old, I was chosen, by my squad leader in the Army, to become a Combat Lifesaver. This process involved learning and testing on a series of advanced first aid skills including tourniquets, j-tube airways, and a final test of administering an I.V. of saline solution to one of our battle buddies. As the first responder testing out, I almost fainted. Something about sticking a needle into the spongy arm flesh of a fellow soldier had me real queasy.

So, after that experience, I just figured I would just always hate needles for all eternity.

Don’t get me wrong. Needles are still not my favorite. I guess after my miscarriage in 2017, the overexposure to needles through frequent blood draws just made me get used to the process. After my miscarriage I had my blood drawn 7 times in the weeks following, to check if the hcg levels were back to zero or if my body was still recovering from the loss of my baby. Needless to say, I got used to getting blood drawn.

I see donating blood as an opportunity to give back to the community.

BioLife Plasma Services ran a Facebook ad for offering $600 for donations made in the first month. Digging a little deeper, there are a few details that ad left out, but the gist of it is this: Make 8 plasma donations in the first month and you will get $600 loaded on a debit card: $70 for the first donation and varying amounts for the other 7 donations. It’s not a bad offer. Without the promotion, you still get $70 for each donation.

The first appointment took about 3 hours. I showed up an hour early because I had no idea where I was going or how the process worked. The receptionist asked what I had eaten last and when. I don’t usually eat breakfast these days, so I was told to go eat something more substantial than some coffee and a protein shake. Touche. Luckily ,there was an IHOP right next door so I grabbed an omelette and some hash browns.

When I came back at my appointment time, I was given a physical, blood iron level and protein levels were taken, blood pressure and weight were recorded and a long questionnaire about sexual history, drug use, and travel patterns was filled out.

The donation itself took about 60 minutes. I worked on writing and following up with friends and clients I needed to touch base with. I only had the use of my right arm as my left had the donation needle in it, and I needed to continuously pump my hand into a tight fist throughout the donation.

I think my anxiety got to me a bit at the beginning. I felt like my arm was cramping up because of the blood pressure cuff and part of the pre-donation screening advised that you might experience cramping, so of course, my mind was playing tricks on me!

The medical staff at BioLife monitors your blood pressure throughout the donation process.

After the plasma donation, they give you a saline solution to rehydrate from what they removed. This part made me really cold, so I’m super happy I had a sweater with me.

If you’re wanting to explore the idea of donating plasma, here are my top tips:

1) Have an honest conversation with yourself about why you want to donate.

2) If you can’t stand needles, this is not for you. You will get a finger stick at intake, as well as have a big needle in your arm for an hour during the donation process.

3) Do your own research. There are many different ways to donate blood and plasma. There are also many other ways you can donate or volunteer to help your community, so pick what’s right for you.

4) Look for promotions. When I signed up there was a monetary compensation deal of $600 for 8 donations. There’s also a way to be momentarily compensated for referrals if you have friends or family that would like to donate.

5) If you do decide to donate, make sure you go at least twice. I was told that they can’t use the plasma from just one donation, it needs to be from two or more. I’m not sure if this was there attempt at getting me in again or if there’s truth behind it, but my plan is to go twice a month if I can.

Have you ever donated plasma or blood before? If so, how was your experience? I’d love to hear how others experience the donation center and process.

XO,

Shannon