Blood Plasma Donation Centers - What to Expect

Plasma is an important component of blood, and constitutes over half of the total volume. It mostly consists of water, but also contains other constituents such as vitamins, minerals, proteins, hormones, etc. It is an important element that is needed for patients suffering from hemophilia and immune deficiencies, women with pregnancy, newborn babies, ICU patients, or patients suffering from intensive burn injuries.

Donating Blood Plasma

Requirements
The requirements for plasma donation are very similar to those in the case of blood donation. A donor needs to be at least 18 years of age, must weigh more than 110 pounds, and should be physically fit and healthy. He should not suffer from blood-related diseases like hepatitis, AIDS, or cancer. The donation facilities would provide all the other requirements. Plasma has the capability of regenerating very quickly, so you may even donate two times in a week.

Preparations
You would need to take an appointment from a certified plasma donation center if you want to donate your plasma. The complete plasma donation process normally takes more time than blood donation. For this reason, the centers prefer not to take walk-ins. Before going through with the donation, you would need to drink lots of water to make up for the plasma lost in the process. Moreover, you should also have a good meal. When you take the appointment, the center will inform you about what you should do before the process.

Procedure
Before the plasma donation, you would be screened and would need to pass a 'mini-physical' which includes checking the iron and blood-sugar level, pulse rate, blood pressure, cholesterol level, and body temperature. After removing the required blood from the body, it will have to go through a process which includes the separation of blood cells from the plasma. At regular intervals, the blood cells would be returned to your body. This whole procedure is known as 'plasmapheresis', and takes around an hour.

Compensation
The compensation may differ from center to center. There are a few plasma donation centers which provide donors with compensation for lifetime, which may range greatly in amount. Other centers provide the donors with points which can later be redeemed for gifts. Some facilities are profit-based, and some are not. You are more likely to receive compensation if you donate your plasma to a profit-based facility.

Centers
There are over 330 licensed and certified plasma collection facilities in the USA alone, and over 25 facilities in Canada, Germany, and Austria. These centers are run by commercial institutions or the government. Every facility manages their operations and procedures in their individual manner, but have to abide by the rules and regulations of the government.

If you want to donate your blood plasma and need information about the working hours, compensation, and appointments, you would directly need to contact the nearest certified plasma donation center. But do ensure that the center is licensed and permitted to do so. Such facilities collect plasma, and also create awareness about the advantages of donating blood. They normally accept all groups of blood from donors. Many pharmaceutical companies largely depend on such facilities for getting plasma which is used in effective treatments for chronic and rare diseases. The collected plasma may go directly to patients or be sold to medical research companies.

You can always gather information and find out blood plasma donation centers in your state by referring to the Yellow pages or searching on the Internet.