College student Clint Strickland enjoys going out on the town with his friends — and plasma donations help him pay for it.
I make sure I plan ahead just so I could spend money without necessarily spending the money I already have,” Strickland said.
Strickland is one of millions of plasma donors that have made the United States the world’s largest plasma producer — a statistic that sometimes raises concerns.
The United States is one of only five countries that allow donors to be paid for their donations, other countries being Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary. The United States is the global production leader of plasma products.
Adding a financial incentive has motivated more people to donate their plasma, especially near college campuses, and helps to fill a growing need for plasma.
Donating blood and donating plasma are commonly confused with each other. Both procedures will draw blood, but during plasma donations, machines will filter out the plasma from the blood, then return the blood into the donor.
Plasma donation appointments typically take longer than blood donation appointments, with the average plasma donation appointment lasting around 90 minutes and the average blood donation appointment lasting around 45-60 minutes.
Ryan Witt, a medical professional working at Octapharma Plasma, said plasma donations are needed for vaccine research, the recovery process for burn victims, as well as treatment for hemophilia patients. Hemophilia is a blood disorder which affects the blood’s ability to clot correctly, a condition that can be dangerous if not treated.
This also means that plasma donation centers are popping up in areas with potential donors who are strapped for cash, like college towns.
Athens alone has four main plasma donation centers.
Some of these donation centers are registered as foreign companies with headquarters in countries, such as Octapharma Plasma’s headquarters in Switzerland and Grifols’ headquarters located in Spain.
The United States Food and Drug Administration says in order to be able to donate plasma, potential donors need to be at least 18 years old and weigh at least 110 pounds. This is similar to the requirements for blood donation — with the exception of the minimum age requirement. The minimum age requirement to be able to donate blood is 16 years old.
How frequently donors are allowed to donate plasma and blood varies as well — patients can donate blood once every 6 weeks, while patients can donate plasma once in a two-day period or twice in a seven-day period.
Plasma is undoubtedly a needed, life-saving product, but questions remain about the safety of donating plasma. Most common side effects include bruising, dizziness and dehydration.
While rare, two people recently died in Canada after donating plasma, according to a report from the New York Times. The two deaths occurred only a few months apart from each other.
Amelia Durden is a journalism major with a minor in history and certificate in news literacy in the Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication.
