In a time where students are often strapped for cash and overwhelmed with expenses, pursing alternative avenues for incomes makes sense. BioLife Plasma, an organization that offers compensation for human plasma, is an avenue often explored by students at Grand Valley State University.

Katie Zanderwerf, GVSU freshman, said she’s donated her plasma at BioLife a total of four times so far.

“I would definitely recommend for college students to donate their plasma,” Zanderwerf said. “It’s a fast and easy way to get money, while also saving lives at the same time.”

Nevertheless, donating plasma might not be for everyone. Zanderwerf said students must consider both the pros and cons. She said the pros of donating plasma include saving lives, that donor’s compensation goes up in price after the first donation and it only takes about 40 minutes. The cons would be if the individual is afraid of large needles and if they are queasy with blood, she said.

Danielle Wells is a regional marketing representative for the Biolife Plasma locations in Walker and Grand Rapids. She said beteween the two locations, about 15 percent of their donors are students.

“We have a good chunk of college students that come into BioLife,” Wells said.

Wells said BioLife’s main goal is to collect human plasma to make life-saving medication for its patients, who suffer from diseases like hemophilia, immune deficiencies, burn and trauma victims, and Alpha 1 Antitrypsin, which can all be treated with plasma therapies.

“All of these are very serious genetic disorders and these people are born without the ability to produce proteins to keep them healthy,” she said.

People with hemophilia don’t have the protein in their body to stop bleeding, and immune disorders don’t have certain proteins that fight off infections.

“Plasma is basically a portion of the blood that consists of mainly water and protein, and we use these proteins to make lifesaving plasma-based therapies for patients,” Wells said.

Wells said the donors at BioLife come from all ages. In order to be eligible to donate, people must be between 18 and 69 years old and must be at least 110 pounds and in good health.

People can donate their plasma twice a week with a minimum of one day in between and can choose how frequently they want to donate.

The amount of plasma donated during one donation depends on an individual’s weight, with 690 milliliters at the lowest range and 825 milliliters at the highest. She said the regular donors who donate twice a week can receive up to $200 a month, and the standard compensation for donors is $20 the first visit during the week, and $30 during the second visit of the week.

The Walker location sees an average of 2,500 donors per week because of its larger capacity, while the Grand Rapids location has an average of 2,300 donors per week.

“The benefits of donating plasma are a win-win situation: it’s a great way to feel like you’re giving something back while also receiving something at the same time,” Wells said. “A lot of people feel like they can’t give back to the community because of money or don’t have the time to volunteer, and donating plasma helps with this.”

While there are many benefits of donating plasma, many people are unaware of BioLife or don’t have the time out of their days to donate.

“The number one reason that people don’t donate is because they don’t know about BioLife,” Wells said. “Also, it takes an hour to donate, and if they donate twice a week that could be a lot of time for someone. That’s why we compensate our donors because of the time and commitment it takes.

People can also be nervous about the entire process, but we like to reassure them that it is a painless and low risk procedure in a relaxing environment.”

On a typical donation day, donors go through a pre-screening process where they get their vitals and iron checked to make sure they are in good health. In order to prepare for a plasma donation, Wells recommends that donors drink plenty of water and eat a well-balanced healthy meal.

For more information on the process of donating plasma or to make an appointment, go to biolifeplasma.com
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