Selling plasma is a way that college students can help with medical research while being compensated at the same time, but it might not be the best-paying opportunity. Is it safe to sell your plasma?

The simple answer is yes, selling your plasma is safe. As long as you follow a schedule that allows your body to rebuild your plasma levels, you won't have any adverse effects from routine donations.

But while selling plasma seems like a straightforward way to contribute to medical research, Celerion offers medical studies for those looking to make a contribution to the medical community while being compensated for their time.

Keep reading to learn about the plasma donation process and how clinical studies from Celerion might be another option.

What is plasma?

Although your blood seems like a liquid, if you look at it under a microscope, you'll see that it's really both solid and liquid. Plasma is the liquid. Red and white blood cells and platelets are the solids. Plasma, a mix of water, salt, and enzymes, carries these solids and other materials—hormones, proteins, and nutrients—throughout the circulatory system and then removes waste products from cells.

How Donation Works

When you donate plasma, you're hooked up to a centrifuge that removes the blood, then spins out and separates the plasma from the red blood cells. The heavy red cells settle at the bottom of the machine and are returned to your bloodstream, while the lighter-weight plasma remains in the centrifuge and is retrieved for research.

How Much Does Donating Plasma Pay?

On average, you can expect between $50-$100 by selling plasma. This process can take anywhere from 1 to 3 hours, and some centers have limits as to how many times you can go a week or month.

If you're interested in how to contribute more to medical research while being compensated for your time, however, Celerion offers clinical studies that offer compensation to participants for their time.

How to Get Qualified to Participate in a Study with Celerion

Prospective participants in Celerion studies begin by completing an online registration and screening process that begins with the participant completing a comprehensive medical history questionnaire. When you come into our office—either in Lincoln, Nebraska or Phoenix, Arizona—for screening, you will need to bring all your important medical information—names of medication you take, any surgeries you've had—and sign off on the questionnaire. There's additional screening at this point—Celerion staff will document your vital signs—height, weight, pulse, blood pressure, and temperature, and collect blood and urine samples. They'll also give you a physical exam and possibly an echocardiogram (ECG). The physician may also run allergy tests and X-rays.

Plan on this screening taking about three hours.

To see what compensation we offer, take a look at some of the studies we have going on currently!

Why Sign up for Clinical Studies

Celerion is a clinical research organization that conducts studies for a wide range of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. When you sign up to participate in a study, you're contributing to the possibility of treating serious medical conditions for millions of people all over the world.

Help Further Research with Clinical Studies from Celerion

Celerion pays research participants appropriate compensation. The payments are based on both the time involved in participating and the depth of participation. Participants learn the payment amounts and scheduled pay dates during the ICF period.

We use the Hyperwallet payment platform, and participants can choose how they want to be paid—direct bank deposit, PayPal, a virtual card, etc—and we handle the appropriate tax forms during the ICF process.

Want to learn more about upcoming research studies? Contact us, and one of our Celerion Study Participant Representatives will let you know what clinical projects are on the horizon. Or, you can come in and tour one of our facilities in Lincoln, Nebraska, or Phoenix if you'd like to see how we work.

Image Credit: DavideAngelini, Shutterstock