On October 6th, 2023 my mom and I went to Canadian Plasma Resources for our first appointment. The plasma donation centre has now been renamed Grifols. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I knew the least we could do was get some information. Like many people, I’m always looking for opportunities to bring more cash into the household. I feel that donating plasma is a win-win situation. Luckily we can be compensated financially (in Alberta), but our plasma is also helping people!
The plasma donation process is pretty straightforward.
Once you’ve booked your plasma appointment you will receive a confirmation email. On the day of your plasma donation, you’ll receive another email with a digital questionnaire. You’ll have to complete it before your appointment. After you’ve completed the questionnaire you’ll get a QR code on your screen. The QR code will need to be scanned at your plasma appointment.
I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly the screening process is. After you’ve checked yourself in using your phone. You’ll get called to the front desk. That’s where you’ll show them your photo ID. At your first appointment, a staff member will take your picture for your file, this is just for the plasma center’s records.
After you’ll wait in the waiting room to either be called, or texted about which screening room you need to go to. On the first few visits, you’ll have to circle on a body image chart where you’ve got tattoos and piercings. Then every visit you’ll have to weigh yourself, get your blood pressure taken, and your finger pricked to test your blood for your hematocrit and protein levels.
For the first couple of visits, you’ll be sent back to the waiting room to wait for the nurse to call you. During my first few visits, the nurse listened to my heart, checked my height, my weight, looked inside my mouth, checked my throat, and asked me some questions. Once the nurse is done doing their examination, you’ll have to fill out a card asking if you’d like to donate your plasma or not. This card is to be filled out confidentially and the nurse will not see your response.
Sometimes people feel pressured to donate by family, friends, or they lie on their questionnaire.
Filling out this little card gives you the safety and privacy to be honest without feeling judged. After you finish up with the nurse and you’re given the green light to head to the last set of waiting room chairs. You’ll wait till your name is called for a final time and the first few times you’ll hand them your little confidential card, which they put in a locked box on the wall. They will take your file folder and ask you which arm you’d prefer to donate from.
Then you’ll be brought to the donation chairs. They will put a blood pressure cuff on your arm, and get your machine set up. If you have any questions make sure you ask. They will disinfect where your needle will be going before they insert it. The first time that you are donating they’ll take some blood sample vials so that they can test your blood. If anything shows up that’s concerning they’ll make sure to give you a call.
From start to finish your donation will take around 40-60 minutes.
If your plasma is good to use you’ll be compensated $30 for the first donation of the week. If they aren’t able to use your plasma you’ll get compensated $10 for your first plasma donation. This HERE is the compensation plan that they currently have posted. How much you’re able to make varies from person to person. They also have bonus money perks for first-timers as an incentive to donate more than once.
Once you’ve completed your donation, you can head to the front desk and get a snack with a juice box. If you want to book again you can ask the person at the desk to book you another appointment, or you can book an appointment online. You can only donate twice in 7 days.
Important things to do before your first plasma donation appointment.
The day before your appointment and the day of you’ll want to make sure that you eat plenty of protein and non-fatty foods. My go-to the night before is chicken breast and vegetables. In the morning I like to have eggs along with some type of protein. You’ll also want to make sure that you are well-hydrated so drink plenty of water, before, during and after you donate.
I’ve found that doing some light stretching of my arms and wrists before donating helps since you’ll be squeezing a soft “ball” when you donate. You might want to have something to distract you while you’re donating. I used to bring a book, but now I prefer using my Kindle so I don’t have to worry about flipping the pages. A lot of people watch something on their phone or listen to a podcast, or music (make sure to bring headphones.)
In 2023 I was able to donate 22,497 ML of plasma to potentially help people out. Do you think you’d ever donate plasma? If you’ve donated plasma, how was donating for you?