My First Attempt to Donate Plasma - Part IV

In Part III of "My First Ever Attempt to Donate Plasma," I went through the litany of questions, and I was needlessly concerned that my vegetarianism would be a problem. That I didn't eat meat was okay with them, and they sent me to the lobby to read the information in the binder.

ZLB Plasma Services - The Regular Donor Evaluation

I picked up the binder and began reading. I learned that a person can donate plasma two times per week. After reading through a lot of information including disclosures and consent forms, my name was called again.

A medical technician asked me to lay my fingers under a special light, and they marked on of my fingernails with a special marker. They explained that this was so I could not go to other plasma centers to donate.

I was directed into a different evaluation room where there was a stool and a scale. I was asked to verify my name, address, and telephone number, which I had just given them in Room #1. I stood on the scale. My weight was recorded.

The tech pricked the end of my finger with a needle. Blood was drawn and put into a machine to test my protein and iron levels, among other things. My blood pressure was taken and recorded.

They handed me a thermometer and told me to place it under my tongue. They explained that if my temperature was too high, I would be "deferred" for the day. Being deferred meant I would not be allowed to donate plasma that day and I would receive no pay. They would only take my temperature once - "no retakes" they stated resolutely.

"And your temperature is 99.7 degrees, which is too high," the tech stated, "you are being deferred for today, but you can come back tomorrow."

I couldn't believe I had a temperature. I felt fine. I wondered if their machine was working correctly or if the tech had somehow misread it. Not wanting to be argumentative, I simply said, "okay, thanks."

As I walked out, I gingerly held the cotton ball against my pricked finger to stop the bleeding. Too bad they hadn't taken my temperature before all of that.

I felt silly that I had wasted about two hours of my day, including traveling time. If a plasma center is a place where they receive the downtrodden of society, then I apparently did not make the cut - at least not that day.