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Cash-strapped donating plasma to help pay bills
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Published: August 3, 2009
Two mornings a week, three Gastonia friends make a 50-mile round trip to a Charlotte plasma donation center to earn an extra $50 a week.
"It makes a difference in income," said Terry Stewart, a 49-year-old Gastonia man who was recently laid off. "I need the money."
He and his friends Joanna Costner, 36, and Dana Rayfield, 37, pile into the car at 6:30 a.m. and grab a breakfast biscuit to fortify themselves before donating at Talecris Plasma Resources on Central Avenue. They arrive before 8 a.m. and join the 50 or so other donors waiting in a line that sometimes stretches to the building's parking lot.
Donating blood plasma has long been popular among cash-strapped college students, but as the economy has soured, the practice has gained steam among folks who have lost jobs or income.
Plasma donation in 2008 reached 18.8 million nationally, up from 15 million in 2007 and 12.5 million in 2006, according to the Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association, an advocacy group that promotes the donation of blood plasma to help fight other diseases.
Industry experts attribute the increase to the recession, an increase in the number of donation centers and increased awareness about the pay for donations and the benefits that their plasma can bring other people. The number of donation centers has jumped from about 315 in 2006 to 380 currently.
"The industry overall has seen a steady increase," said Christine Kuhinka, communications manager for CSL Behring, one of seven sanctioned companies that manage plasma centers nationwide.
Plasma -- the straw-colored, protein-rich portion of the blood -- is used to create prescription drugs that fight chronic genetic illnesses and immune deficiency diseases. Physicians also use it to treat shock, trauma and burn victims.
Donors can give up to twice a week, earning them up to $200 a month. Compensation varies depending on the center.
"Being a single mom, this is one more way I can clothe my kids and pay my bills," said Dana Rayfield, as she stood in line last week at Talecris, one of at least three Charlotte donation centers. "Knowing that it's helping someone out clears your conscience."
The donation process resembles a typical blood donation, with blood extracted through a needle and funneled into a machine that separates plasma from red and white blood cells. Those cells are then returned to the donor through a second tube and needle.
The first donation can take up to three hours, including a blood screening and paperwork. Mild side effects of nausea, dizziness or shock can occur, as with any blood donation. But generally donors don't experience lasting problems because the body quickly replaces plasma.
Donors must be between 18 and 59 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds and be in good health.
"In a two-hour setting, $50 or $60 a week goes a long way," said Stewart, who uses his compensation to buy groceries and gas.
Frank Ear, 50, of Charlotte got laid off about a year ago from his nuclear power plant job and said he relies "pretty heavily" on his bi-weekly compensation.
"This supplements things...," he said. "Hopefully they can help somebody out with it, too."
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