Seriously......

I am making better and more consistent money donating plasma ($1,000 for my 1st eight donations) than I am mystery shopping. Has it always been this way?

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It depends on how much you were making in mystery shopping before. Just kidding. They give you a lot more the first month, then it goes way down, unless you are giving convalescent plasma -- i.e. you recovered from Covid-19.

@morocco77 wrote:

I am making better and more consistent money donating plasma ($1,000 for my 1st eight donations) than I am mystery shopping. Has it always been this way?

Thanks for the descriptive thread title (just kidding). I don't think I can make much off plasma since my plasma has a lot of Jim Beam in it.

Another shopper mentioned selling plasma but as a way to supplement income, not to replace it.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

I was banned from selling plasma at BioLife about 10 years ago because my veins were too small/deep/rolly, and I kept having blowouts in both arms. I wonder if the tech has improved enough since then for me to try again.

Administrative Manager for Shoppers' View
p: 800.264.5677 | e: christinew@shoppersview.com | w: www.shoppersview.com

They pay here for plasma is paltry: $20 for returnees, according to recent information. An hour and a half from home, a different company might pay more from time to time,. But that is an hour and a half-- one way! I, too, have the tiny and elusive veins that refuse to cooperate more often than not. I will not squander time and energy for plasma because i need whatever assistance I can get from my veins for me (periodic thyroid tests). Sad. Alas.

@ShoppersViewChristine wrote:

I was banned from selling plasma at BioLife about 10 years ago because my veins were too small/deep/rolly, and I kept having blowouts in both arms. I wonder if the tech has improved enough since then for me to try again.

Bach is not noise, Madam. (Robert, in Two's Company)

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/2021 09:21AM by Shop-et-al.

I set up an appt with Bio Life a few weeks ago and started the process to do the 8 donations for $1000....only to be told that because I have not been off my hormone replacement therapy (cancer treatment) for 5 years yet (only two), due to FDA regs I could not donate yet for three more years. The nurse even showed me the wording on her computer screen. Bummer. It would have been nice for getting early Christmas money!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/01/2021 04:46PM by guysmom.

@KokoBWare wrote:

@morocco77 wrote:

I am making better and more consistent money donating plasma ($1,000 for my 1st eight donations) than I am mystery shopping. Has it always been this way?
Thanks for the descriptive thread title (just kidding). I don't think I can make much off plasma since my plasma has a lot of Jim Beam in it.

Maybe top shelf pays more? Where I live it is only $30 for the first 5 donations and $10 thereafter. Plus, it takes the entire day even after your initial first visit. They are so freaking slow! I gave twice and try to three more times but the line was so long I just finally gave up.

And the ATTITUDES! Seriously, zero cares given.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/25/2021 07:49PM by sestrahelena.

@morocco77 wrote:

I am making better and more consistent money donating plasma ($1,000 for my 1st eight donations)

I heard you can get a better return by donating a few thousand to your local politician instead.

*being cheeky...only a tiny bit, though*

I considered a plasma donation before, but had second thoughts after hearing stories of purported drug addicts and homeless individuals lined up in the waiting rooms. I kept thinking, what if I "caught" something accidentally while donating. Probably a mostly irrational fear, but still one that I had.

If you are getting paid, you aren't really donating plasma; you are selling plasma.

Think I read somewhere that plasma payments are taxable. Can that be true?

@SoCalMama wrote:

If you are getting paid, you aren't really donating plasma; you are selling plasma.

Bach is not noise, Madam. (Robert, in Two's Company)

Yes, it is taxable income (like mystery Shopping). If it is under $600 you probably will not get a 1099.

@sestrahelena wrote:

Plus, it takes the entire day even after your initial first visit. They are so freaking slow! I gave twice and try to three more times but the line was so long I just finally gave up.

And the ATTITUDES! Seriously, zero cares given.

No appointments? Is it just walk-ins?

@Shop-et-al wrote:

They pay here for plasma is paltry: $20 for returnees, according to recent information. An hour and a half from home, a different company might pay more from time to time,. But that is an hour and a half-- one way! I, too, have the tiny and elusive veins that refuse to cooperate more often than not. I will not squander time and energy for plasma because i need whatever assistance I can get from my veins for me (periodic thyroid tests). Sad. Alas.

Luckily, there are at least two companies that are local to me. BioLife offers free child watching while you're there, so I dream about going for a couple hours, listening to a podcast and doing some embroidery while my kiddo plays with other kids. However, the pandemic keeps me away for now.

Administrative Manager for Shoppers' View
p: 800.264.5677 | e: christinew@shoppersview.com | w: www.shoppersview.com

Deleted

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/2021 05:32PM by sestrahelena.

@shoptastic wrote:

@sestrahelena wrote:

Plus, it takes the entire day even after your initial first visit. They are so freaking slow! I gave twice and try to three more times but the line was so long I just finally gave up.

And the ATTITUDES! Seriously, zero cares given.
No appointments? Is it just walk-ins?

Yes but this was in the BC years (before covid)

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/2021 05:33PM by sestrahelena.

@sestrahelena wrote:

Yes but this was in the BC years (before covid)

That's interesting. I would have thought appointments would be more common PC (post-COVID) to prevent overcrowding.

I wonder if the surge in plasma selling may also be related to the surge in poverty recently: [www.nbcnews.com]

@ wrote:

Researchers at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and the University of Notre Dame Department of Economics are using monthly Census data to capture a nearly real-time snapshot of American poverty. Last month, even as the unemployment rate fell and more states relaxed restrictions on business operations, the poverty rate hit a pandemic high of 11.7 percent — a full percentage point greater than it was in early 2020.

March 2021 saw the highest level of poverty in the U.S. since the pandemic began.

I feel for those having to wait hours during this time to donate/sell plasma. But, times are also tough for a lot of folks.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/2021 07:37PM by shoptastic.

One of my kids donates twice a week. Takes about 45 minutes to an hour each time, and he gets paid $35 for the first time in the week, and $55 for the second time in a week. Good money! They pay more for the second time in a week because they need the second round of plasma from the same person for certain medications that they make with it. A friend of mine has some odd antibodies, and she gets $190 a week for her combined weekly donations. Of course, this is at a clean and well run center.

My sister's FIL needs plasma urgently. He is 77 years old and just had a pacemaker surgery which is where he got COVID probably. He might not make it but we are all sending messages to frds and family if somebody could donate. They are willing to pay a generous amount for the donation. We'll see if we get lucky.

@Mum: I am a stranger who would help anyone, if I could. As it is, I can't produce enough blood for an overdue thyroid test. So while I am trying to figure out how to get the gazillion dollar grant for new and improved (or just bloodless) methods of testing thyroid levels, I will pray for you and yours.

Bach is not noise, Madam. (Robert, in Two's Company)

I know. I have thyroid issues and I had to beg my doctor to extend my prescription for 3 months without a blood test. I was just scared to go inside a lab to get a test done. He understood my concern and extended my prescription when the COVID situation got bad in IL. My sister's FIL is in UK, in a town where they have scarce resources and try to get as much as they can from the big metros nearby.

@Shop-et-al Thank you for your kind words. God bless!!

Mum, I hope all the best for your sister's FIL. From what I have heard the plasma isn't as life saving as some have made it out to be - they have mixed results with it. They have had better success with Regeneron and the monoclonal antibodies. Are those more accessible? You know what they say - don't put all of your eggs in one basket.

Kim

Convalescent plasma has not proven to be especially effective. Some studies doubt that it works at all, but the FDA says that it does no harm. My son got COVID in early October and was enrolled in the Eli Lilly monoclonal antibody study by the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. We are certain that he got the "good stuff" because, by the end of the 4-hour infusion, all of his symptoms were gone (and have never returned). By the end of October, the FDA had approved the Regeneron monoclonal antibody treatment under EUA, and a week later, the Eli Lilly monoclonal antibody treatment was approved under EUA. My son is still part of the long-term study. We expect that soon he will be officially told whether he got the placebo or the "real stuff."

Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008

Had a friend try to do blood donation. Was told her first test should she had AIDS> Hmmm no. She frantically went to her regular doc and confirmed no AIDS. the blood bank will not remove it from her records and is NEVER allowed to donate anywhere.

@kimmiemae. They have tried many things. The problem is he is a 77 year old man who just had a pacemaker surgery. His lungs have stopped functioning and last night I heard he was put on ventilator. There is little hope.

I'm so sorry Mum.

Kim

He passed away a few hours ago. My sister's MIL who is still in hospital for COVID doesn't know this. Breaks my heart. My brother in law and sister won't be able to fly home for the funeral with travel restrictions.

Prayers mum...

Sincere condolences, mum.

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