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Well I have finally taken the plunge, and have started donating plasma. Why? Well I could use the extra cash for various things such as a new camera, running gear, a backup savings account, money for food, etc.
Prior to doing this though I did a lot of research to see if there would be any negative affect on my training, and performance while training.
After doing much digging and searching, I wasn't really sure what affect, if any, there would be in regards to my running. Today, however, I came across an article on Runner's World, which not only talked about the affects of donating plasma, but how it compared to donating blood while in training or racing mode.
I won't quote the whole article to you this time (maybe next time though), basically it boiled down to after two days, your body will be right back to where it was before you donated the plasma. This was very comforting to me. The other interesting information this article provided talked about the affects of donating whole blood. Whole blood essentially took about a week for your body to return back to normal after donating.
After gathering all of this here information, I have devised the following plasma donating schedule. I will donate twice per week, Monday's and Thursday's. Both donations will be given after my run, and gives me essentially 48 hours until I have to do a run of any sort. This two hour a week commitment will provide me with roughly an extra $50 per week, minimum, and a minimum amount of about $200 per month. This will be a great boost to the old wallet here shortly!
I must admit, it was a little weird having a needle strapped to your arm for an hour, while it takes blood out of your body, removes the plasma, then returns it back to your body. Also, my left arm was a little sore from my first adventure. This could be from the mid donation hiccup, where they had to wiggle (ouch) the needle back into place so the blood could return to my vain.
Has anyone ever donated plasma before?? What were your thoughts if you have.
I donated plasma a handful of times in high school. Mostly because one of the nurses that worked there was this gorgeous dark-haired beauty...
ReplyDeleteIt was never too bad, I especially enjoyed the snacks afterwards, although I did nearly pass out once after donating on a day when I hadn't really eaten anything.