Reporter was commissioned to write this in-depth article.
For those looking to earn extra money while also making a positive impact, plasma donation represents an easy opportunity to do just that. Plasma Services Group, a medical research and diagnostics company, offers this unique chance.
This just might be the easiest way to earn cash and help others
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If you’ve been recently diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder or infectious disease, the medical community needs your plasma donation — and Plasma Services Group is eager to pay you for your time and services. (PSG generally compensates $200 per plasma donation.)
Because of your diagnosis, you are in a position to make a powerful impact on others who are in the same situation. Your plasma is a vital part of disease diagnosis. In fact, without such donations, test kits for many diseases and disorders wouldn’t even exist.
How does it work? Making a plasma donation isn’t all that different from donating blood. (Both are obtained at a donation center through a simple IV placed in your arm.) The one- to two-hour process extracts plasma, which is the liquid portion of a person’s blood. It’s essentially composed of various blood proteins and makes up roughly 50 to 60 percent of your total blood volume.
The diagnostic community is particularly in need of specialty plasma, and the demand all comes back to antibodies. These immune system soldiers are what help identify and fight off foreign threats like viruses and bacteria. These same antibodies are also needed to manufacture tests for many diseases and disorders so that others can be diagnosed.
“Specialty plasma donors are the unacknowledged heroines and heroes of the diagnostic industry,” says Jeff Fleishman, president of Plasma Services Group. “Without them, other people with the same diseases and disorders couldn’t be accurately diagnosed, and novel tests couldn’t be developed.”
While donating blood is something most Americans have done at one time or another, donating plasma is a lesser known way to make an equally important impact. The process is safe, comfortable and closely monitored. To be eligible to donate, you must be at least 18 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, and have a valid photo ID. A regular blood sample will then be taken to confirm that you qualify to donate. To make the process easier, Plasma Services Group can even send a phlebotomist to your home or office to take the sample.
“We at Plasma Services Group strive to ensure the donation process is as convenient and smooth as possible,” says Virginia Glass, director of donor recruitment for Plasma Services Group. “Our donors’ individual needs and comforts are a priority. We endeavor to secure and strengthen the vital link between plasma donors and the medical diagnostic community.”
