By: Isaac Linsk, Follow South Jersey Intern
SOUTH JERSEY – Passive income streams, side-gigs, and part time jobs all serve a similar purpose, putting a few extra dollars into the pockets of people seeking out extra work. However, South Jersey residents and college students alike are finding a novel solution to their financial problems: blood plasma donation.
Plasma is the transparent liquid that carries our blood cells throughout our body and is used in the development of medicines that help to aid our immune system and fight severe infections. Because plasma needs to be given from a willing donor, medical companies with a focus on plasma incentivize donations by paying donors a fee in order to promote the practice of donating.
According to recent statistics, blood plasma donations rose from approximately 15.3 million in 2007, topping off at 53.5 million in 2019, and leveling off at 43.8 million in 2021.
The plasma industry as a whole is projected to be worth over 45 billion dollars by the end of the decade, with plasma centers becoming commonplace at places like strip malls across the country. In South Jersey alone there are 15 different blood plasma donation centers, six of which are in Camden county.
Most of these South Jersey locations are owned by some of the largest plasma donation companies in the industry namely:
- CSL Plasma
- Biolife Plasma Services
- Octapharma Plasma
CSL Plasma, which leads in the area with 4 locations including one in Trenton, has more than 280 centers in the United States, and over 300 centers across the globe.
The process of donating plasma is virtually the same at most donation centers.
- You book an appointment either online or over the phone
- Upon first donation, you will be screened through a physical exam as well as a few basic medical tests to ensure your eligibility
- After the physical exam you will enter a queue to donate, depending on the center you might get to jump to the front of the line after you complete your initial physical exam.
- The process of waiting in line can be extensive due to the donation process taking 45-90 minutes per person once they are hooked up to the plasma machine, this is why it’s important for the companies to track their appointments to ensure they have enough chairs and machines for each donor.
- After you reach the end of the line, a staff member will escort you to an open medical exam chair in the building and draw your blood with a syringe before connecting you to a machine that separates plasma from whole blood cells before returning the whole blood cells back into your body.
- After your donation is complete, someone at the donation center will give you a prepaid debit card with the payment for your donation.
Most centers have turned to gamifying their donations, prompting donors with rewards and payment bonuses as encouragement for first time donors and repeat donations within their first month.
On its website, CSL offers first time donors up to $100 for their first donation and up to $700 across their first month of donating.
Biolife Plasma offers similar bonuses and promotions but limits them through coupon and referral codes exchanged over the company’s app which users can book appointments and track their payments through.
The South Jersey plasma centers all seem to be located in close proximity to colleges and college towns, with two B Positive Plasma centers recently opening in Atlantic City and ABO Plasma opening in a former B positive Plasma location in Glassboro.
The barrier to entry for some college students can be higher than expected. Elena Laughton, a senior at Rowan University, was unable to complete the screening process when she went with a group of friends because of a nose piercing she received in the last four months.
For anyone looking to donate plasma at one of these centers, hobbies like tattoos and piercings can interfere with your eligibility.
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