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Is Donating Plasma Safe?

LandsUnknown

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Oct 3, 2014
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There's this place located near where I live that pays around 50 bucks per donation, and you can safely go twice a week according to the website. The place is licensed and all. Supposedly, the process is similar to donating blood and simply involves sitting in a chair for 30-60 minutes and then getting paid. However, I have heard other sites say that one shouldn't donate more than once a month, and there were other places that said that one should not donate more than once every two weeks. Yet another doctor said once every three weeks. Yet the FDA says you can donate up to two times per week. As anyone else would be, the idea of 50 dollars an hour for sitting around essentially doing nothing other than just sitting there in a medical office getting blood drawn doesn't sound bad deal =D Even if I only went once a month and got the 50 extra dollars a month, it would be a nice "bonus" so to speak.

Also, there's the added bonus of knowing that the donation is likely to be used to save someone's life as apparently plasma is used to make medications for diseases that would otherwise prove fatal. So, it seems like quite a venerable thing to do as well, and that aspect of it would be a very positive feeling for me even more than the payment.

What are your thoughts on this? Is it safe? Or something that could seriously fuck up your body? I'm asking here since while the FDA says it is safe, I do not trust the government nor do I trust major pharmaceutical companies.
 
It's safe, but you probably ahould heed the warnings not to do it too often.
I think there are several potential reasons for the discrepancies - one being that different people have different needs, and what is safe for one person may not be safe for another.
Blood is strictly a donation thing over here (there is quite a strong theory around it not being something that is paid for in a lot of countries) and it means that less people who are really deaperate end up donating (and i guess in theory, the blood that is received in places like australia may be from healthier people).

But it shouldn't present any danger, and donating blood is a good thing to do.
Perhaps you could discuss the safety (in regards to your personal health) with a clinic or wherever you go to donate blood?
 
The word vamipirism springs to mind when I consider a society that pays the desperate for their blood products. I think it is distasteful to the extreme.
 
I think the reason is probably because not enough people are donating blood for the amount that is needed. We have hundreds of millions of people and most people don't care enough to donate without some sort of incentive. Which is sad, but there it is. I'd rather have a system where there was enough blood available for everyone who needs it to save their life, and some of it came from people who were paid for it.

Also, plasma donation is different from blood donation, it takes a lot longer from what I understand.
 
Yeah, i think people often give blood and plasma in the same sitting, right?

It's been a long time since i studied it, but the donation system in places like australia and britain is tied in with certain ideas of a "gift relationship". This is off-topic but kinda cool if anyone is interested, this article summarises the theory involved.

As is well known, Titmuss' main argument was a comparative study of a voluntary system, based on the choice of making a gift, and a system by which the blood supply is remunerated on a regular market. The system of donation is defended, certainly in terms of ethics, but there is also a significant evaluation in terms of social efficiency. In the case of blood donation there is no trade-off between individual or personal ethics and social efficiency.

However the most important point is that Titmuss was convinced that blood donation perspicuously exemplifies the gift relationship among people in its purest form because it is structurally a gift for a moral stranger. This is why it generates a bond and social ties, corroborating and nurturing, thanks to the resources of moral and impersonal values, institutions and social policies in the field of the health system
 
The word vamipirism springs to mind when I consider a society that pays the desperate for their blood products. I think it is distasteful to the extreme.

Fine, we will pay them nothing. I'm sure that will thank you for depriving them of the money.

In truth I think paying people for plasma or other blood products is a terribly stupid idea. Not because I have some stupid moral problem with pricing options for desperate people to make easy money of course, but because it provides an insentive for people with blood born diseases to lie about it so they can donate and get the money putting everyone in danger.

I have a friend who'd often donate plasma for money for her heroin habit.

Look I get that you're saying they should have better ways of making money not just deprive them of this with no alternative means provided. But I also think you went too far in your objection. There's nothing inherently wrong with paying people for things like this provided it's not clearly exploitation or putting other people in danger.

This does put others in danger which is why I don't approve of it but it's hardly exploitation to get people to donate blood or plasma. They should do it anyway.

Paying people to be surrogate mothers for example would be potentially exploitative. But donating plasma isn't.

Personally I wish people would donate a lot more often, I'd be happy to see them paid for were it not for the dangers such a policy poses by giving people reason to lie about safety of their blood.

I'd do it by I'm a junkie and have like 5 lifetime bans on me donating blood or plasma for various reasons. Likely most people on bluelight are permanently banned for similar reasons.
 
^Hey, I'm not saying don't do it, just that I don't like it. I feel that way about a lot of things in society. I can accept their existence without especially liking or approving of it. In this case, my ultimate conclusion is that it's crazy that people in a rich society need to be paid to donate.
 
Yeah on the whole I agree with you. I think it's a sad state of affairs too.

I just don't really consider it exploitation. But as I said I don't approve of it either but for different reasons.
 
To your point Jess, they test it before it's ever used, to ensure it's disease free.

That's not good enough justification. The rules exist for a good reason. Say someone makes a mistake testing it, or interpreting it. There is simply no reason to take such risks.

There is a reason we have these standards and questionaires to rule out people with blood born diseases rather than relying entirely on the tests. Both are an important part of safety and neither should be ignored.

Giving people an incentive to lie about their risks of blood born diseases is stupid and dangerous. Most countries recognize that but sadly the US tends to be a little behind on this one. In most of the developed world you absolutely are not allowed to pay anyone for donating blood or plasma or anything potentially infectious.

So no, the fact it's tests changes nothing here. Unless there is a severe shortage in supply there is no justification for lax safety standards. And even with a shortage there are still far better first line options than paying people.
 
People who donate here arent paid and many are regular known donors. Particularly the blood groups that run out quickest.

Donors have a blood test first or can provide history of blood tests.

Some people have disorders that disqualify them or have conditions that make donating dangerous.

If you want to donate thats great. Go to your gp and get a blood test to see how healthy you are and if suitable.

If they pay you then good for you .



Btw bloods are not analysed by people anymore and its automated. Cross matching and all the things are done reallly quickly and theres strict qc guidelines that need following and proven followed. Its not people separating out the foamy layers with mouth pipettes these days.

The blood products are mostly separated now and lots of donors of the same blood type end up in one lot of plasma or platelets whatnot.

Some can be frozen and last months. Some refrigerated and last weeks. Some are kept room temperature and only used fresh.

So if you donate blood it depends on whats in stock and what they need.

Donate. Just do it!
 
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Yeah you cant just saunter out, you need to have a cup of tea and a biscuit and relax. Its not like a semen donation :D
 
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