Walking into a blood bank,  an expectation might be a dirty facility with sketchy people lined up to make a quick buck. This expectation would be half right according to senior Dylan Brooks.

 

“There were a lot of sketchy people there,” Brooks said. “I saw a relative who isn’t doing so well, but the facility was very clean.”

 

   Any 18 year old weighing over 110 pounds is eligible to start donating plasma. Plasma is the yellow fluid part of blood where the blood cells and platelets hang out. The actual blood cells are not donated, just the fluid surrounding them. Donating plasma involves two steps. First they draw out the blood. Then they inject the blood cells and platelets back into you. It can be used preventively to fight diseases, or to treat them.

 

    Donating plasma is a contribution to society. In some cases it truly can be “the gift of life.” Hemophillia, immune system defficiencies, tetanus, rabies, measles, rubella, and hepatitis B are all fought with plasma.

 

    However, for most students who choose to donate it is all about the Benjamins, baby. For most high school students, the allure of instant cash is the driving factor for donating plasma. “Yeah, I basically did it for the money,” Brooks said.

 

“I got 50 bucks for signing up and another 50 for my first donation,” Brooks said. “You can donate twice a week.”  

    Is there a catch to donating plasma? Are there any potential risks? “There are really no health risks, everything is closely monitored and sterile,” school nurse Paula Hatcher said.

 

 Clearly, blood-for-money is a good idea then; however, Hatcher was hesitant to endorse the idea. “Probably not [a good idea],” Hatcher said.

 

     ”I keep getting that reaction,” Brooks said. “People keep telling me [donating plasma] is bad, but they don’t have any reasons backing that up. I think that is because the first thing that comes to mind when people think of donating plasma is people doing it for drug or beer money.”