Plasma from your blood can help save others’ lives
David Dangerfield, assistant manager of Bio Medics in Youngstown.
Marcel Lawrence, a phlebotomist at Bio Medics in Youngstown works with an unidentified plasma donor.
By Jon Moffett
YOUNGSTOWN — Plasma hasn’t always had the best reputation.
It’s been known to come cheap and hang around with shady characters. But that was the past, and plasma is looking to upgrade its image.
“People still think of the plasma center as a place for druggies and drunks, which in the olden days it used to be,” said Pamela Hartsough, manager of the Bio-Medics Plasma Center on Rayen Avenue. “But we are so highly regulated now by the FDA that it’s not the case. It’s not the same as it used to be.
“As soon as the FDA stepped in, everything started changing.”
Plasma, which is about 90 percent water, is the liquid part of blood. It is used to develop pharmaceutical drugs to help treat diseases such as rabies, certain types of hepatitis and hemophilia (a disease which hinders the blood’s ability to clot), or it can be directly injected to help burn victims regain protein.
The liquid lifeline is donated similarly to blood. Donors lie on a couch and have the plasma extracted through a needle in their vein. They are paid for their donations. Bio-Medics pays donors $30 for each donation, which can be made twice in a seven-day period. Giving plasma twice a week could earn donors about $3,000 per year.
The money can supplement income or just be a bonus, Hartsough said.
“The donor benefits from it, we benefit from it, and a deathly ill person benefits from it somewhere down the line,” she said.
David Dangerfield, assistant manager of the facility, agreed.
“When you get right down to it, how many things can you do in a day and actually say, ‘I helped someone out,’ and have something in your hand to show for it?”
Donors appreciate the financial reward as well as the updates made to the process.
Brian Harvey, 45, of Lowellville, started donating plasma in 1987 and has done so “off and on” since. He said the money is used to help out around the house. He also noted the changes that have been made because of more stringent regulations, including more advanced sterile equipment.
“It’s much different now than it was even in ’87,” he said. “It’s a lot safer now.”
Dangerfield said that though the money is nice, the concept of donating is more substantial. Some people even take the money and donate it to charity, he said.
“One of the things that I don’t think people understand with this industry is just how much good is done with the [plasma],” Dangerfield said. “It’s used to help people and save lives.”
Dangerfield said people often associate donating plasma with donating blood. But the two procedures are quite different.
“Plasmapheresis is a process where we take the blood and the plasma and separate it into two separate units. The red blood cells are returned to the donor, and the plasma is taken out,” he said.
Hartsough added, “Where they use the whole blood, we use the proteins in the plasma.”
The plasma is extracted from the donor before being frozen at minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit. The plasma is then shipped to various testing facilities across the globe, including Vienna, Austria. It has a shelf life of 10 years.
Plasma donations also don’t take as big a toll on the body. Blood can be donated only once every 56 days, Dangerfield said, while plasma can be collected up to eight times in a month.
“When you donate blood, your body has to reproduce red cells again, and there is a recovery period of about 50 days,” he said. “Because we’re only taking the liquid portion of it and returning those cells to you, if you go out and drink the proper fluids, the recovery period is very short.”
He said 99 percent of donors recover their lost liquid within 24 hours.
First-time donors are required to pass a physical examination and answer a series of health-related questions. Their initial plasma sample is also tested to ensure a quality sample. Donors must have a stable residence, which cannot be a shelter or mission. Donors who got a tattoo or piercing or have been incarcerated for more than 72 hours in the past 12 months are also denied.
Hartsough said even a simple cold could cause a bad sample. She said the process generally takes 45 minutes to an hour to complete, and it is based on a person’s weight and hydration level.