S&Mj Adventures - Plasma Donation Experience

S&Mj Adventures was created to help others while having life changing experiences. The list varies greatly from things like working on a Habitat for Humanity Project....to kissing an alligator on the lips. If you are interested in seeing the complete list....it can be found at www.smjadventures.com/p/mother-of-all-bucket-list

One of the challenges we have had while trying to kick off our adventures is how to fund it all. Matt came up with a genius idea to "Donate Plasma and use those funds to purchase the video cameras needed for our business". In true form we would help others while engaging in one of our adventures.

One of the first hurdles we had to overcome on this adventure was to find a Plasma location in which to donate. After searching on the internet for a bit we came across CSL Plasma located in Hamilton Ohio... a couple miles from our houses. www.cslplasma.com

Upon further investigation we happened across a Plasma Donatation Center locator at - donatingplasma.org/donation/find-a-donor-center It was then determined that there was only 3 Plasma donation locations with a 25 mile radius. And CSL Plasma was the closest by far.

After careful deliberation, hours of investigation we had concluded that GoPro's Hero3+ Black Edition was the camera for us. It is a small, lightweight mountable camera that is waterproof up to 40m. Records High Definition Video with ultra wide field of view, takes 12 MP still photos and much more. Modestly priced in the $400 range makes it a steal. gopro.com

Okay, I am not going to beat around the bush...our first donation was long and drawn out. We knew it would be, so we were prepared for it. We got to watch informative videos on Plasma Donation, and an introduction to the process. Had our veins checked out to make sure that they are suitable for donation. We had to submit proof of residency, social security number and license. Have our blood tested, weight taken, temperature, blood pressure and heart rate. A background check and a query to the National Donor Deferral Registry Picture taken for identification. A complete physical with health history. A drug test looking for illegal drugs. A reading test to ensure we were able to read and comprehend their automated questionnaire. All of this took place before making it to the donation floor.

The actual donation portion went rather quickly. I do have to admit the needle that is used is rather large, but it hurts far less than the finger prick that is used to collect blood for testing. It was rather relaxing, we was able to sit back and watch TV and surf the internet on free WiFi.

Total time was about two and a half hours and I actually felt better about the whole process after having to go through all of the screening processes. The Staff that I dealt with were all helpful and cheerful which made the time spent all the more pleasant.

I checked the balance on my card once I reached home and the money was already available. So within 15 minutes of walking out the door, we had technically been paid. It took 2-1/2 hours each to earn a total of $100. Our average hourly rate for donating - $20/hr

Total amount earned by John and Matt - $100

The second donation went a lot quicker. Once we arrived at the center there where approximately 7 people in line. In the time it took for us to fill out our questionnaire at the kiosk the line was down to two. We spent approximately 5-7 minutes in line before being called back to have our vitals and blood work done. Again that went quickly, between 5 and 10 minutes. Out to stand in line at the donation floor, maybe another 10 minutes while preparing donation stations. 50 minutes to an hour in the donation chair and we was heading out the door in less than 90 minutes.

Again like the first time through the staff was great. Everyone was efficient, courteous and cheerful. The lady from our first donation was working another section but she saw and remembered us, stopped over briefly to joke with us and asked if I was going to stay long enough to give a complete donation this time..

This visit netted us another $100 towards the goal and took less than 3 hours total...for an average hourly rate of $33/hr!!

Total earned to date - $200....Halfway to our first Plasma GoPro

Matt was the only one able to donated this week. While he was only able to donate once this week, John was unable to donate at all do to a bruise on his arm. The night after his last donation he slept with his head on the arm that he used to donate caused a horrible bruise. While there was no soreness or swelling with the bruise, the donation center will not allow you to donate when you have an injury requiring healing like a bruise, cut, broken bone, etc. This rule is a safety measure for the health of the donor. You see if they would allow donation when your body needs to repair itself, the healing process would slow down effecting your overall health. They are adamant about only donating when you are healthy. This rule is in place to protect the health of the donor.

Total earned to date - $240

Matt donated on Monday and John on Wednesday following his 10 days off due to a bruise. While these donations were unremarkable, one thing is becoming clear. If you donate on a regular basis, the time of day along with the day of week can be a huge factor in the time it takes to donate. Today I spent almost as much time waiting as it took for me to donate. There is a huge influx of donors in the evening hours after people get off of work. Almost every station was filled when I arrived, and as I was leaving most stations were empty. So my recommendation to you the reader is to talk to staff at your donation center and figure out when the busy times are.

Total earned to date - $320. 3/4 of the way to the GoPro Hero3+

During Matt's Thursday donation, they sprung a random drug test on him. It is refreshing knowing the precautions that they take weeding out drug addicts. On John's visit he saw a woman storm out mad because she had track marks on her arm from using needles. It never surprises me the steps a drug addict will take to deceive. The rest of the donation process went without incident.

Total amount earned - $410!! We now have enough for the first of our GoPro Cameras!!!

Now that we have enough for our first GoPro...we proceeded to start shopping. At the end of the day we bought ours at Best Buy...even though we could have gotten a sweeter deal at GoPro.com . We were just to anxious to get our hands on it...we chose not to wait for it to ship to our house.

Once we arrived at Best Buy we started to talk to a manager about the Best Buy guaranteed lowest price, and while it sounds like a good deal...what we we discovered was there is a bunch of stipulations that apply. They say they will match any website deal, so we showed them the current incentive on the go pro site, to which the said it doesn't apply to the manufacturers site. They then said it does cover brick and morter stores like Target, Walmart, etc along with websites like Amazon, New Egg, etc. I asked him if there was a "list" of valid competitors...he said yes he would be back in a minute with it. Fifteen minutes later we run him down and conveniently they had no more of them. We then got on our phones and found the same deal on Amazon..showed it to the manager....but noooo....it was "GoPro" on Amazon. He said they would honor any other ones on Amazon. Matt found another, then came the excuse it was a private third party and that didn't work either. After a while we found the deal on the Best Buy website with the same 64 gig extreme card. He said no that wouldn't work either..we said really?, Its your own damn website. By this time we were pretty fed up and settlled for the lesser card that was in their store add...even though they should have honored what was on their own website. The lady at the register told us if we found a better deal in the next 15 days....that they would honor it. Yea...sure, like we believe that.

Twelve days later I get a text from Matt with a pic of a Best Buy add....and low an behold they had a deal with our camera, our card, and a "chesty" rig!! So...having learned our lesson, I called in and talked to someone to see if they would honor this deal. Talked to a wonderful young man on the phone, he found the add on the internet, and verified that yes, they would honor it. Sweet, we head to the store, grab a "chesty" and head to the customer service. A cheerful young lady waited on us, but needed a managers approval. And guess who walks up to the counter? You guessed it...our favorite manager. I explained the situation, and he starts looking through the register, saying he doesn't see it listed. Another employee sitting at a computer tries to get his attention, he ignores him. The employee tries again, and the manager snaps at him "stop, I'm busy". They young man then stands up, an says "I just talked to him on the phone, and I have the ad with that sale on my computer, would you like to see it?" He proceeded to print it out and hand it to my favorite Best Buy representative. He okayed it, and walked away. The girl that I originally dealt with, came back to process my order, all while apologizing. The rest of my Best Buy experience went off without a hitch. I guess at the end of the day....its kind of like Meatloaf sang....."two outa three aint bad"....and two of the three Best Buy representatives were a pleasure to deal with!!

The health-related information in this article is meant for basic informational purposes only. It is not intended to serve as medical advice, substitute for a doctor’s appointment or to be used for diagnosing or treating a disease. Readers of this article are advised to consult with their physician before making any decisions concerning their health.