Donating Plasma and Diet – What Should You Eat Before and After Donating Plasma?
There are several things you should make sure to include in your diet and several things you should be careful to avoid. I have had several experiences where my diet affected my plasma donation, and I want to help you to avoid making the same mistakes I have!
The most important thing is to stay hydrated!
Earn $900 from donating plasma at BioLife! ???
? Plasma donor essentials:
Stress balls:
My favorite water bottle:
Headphones:
Wearable blanket:
Tablet:
? My camera equipment:
Excellent tripod with a phone mount and cold shoe mounts:
Camera bag:
Lighting:
?️ My computer setup:
Speaker:
Monitors:
Mini PC:
M1 MacBook Air:
MacBook case:
Laptop stand:
Mouse:
Keyboard:
Mouse pad/desk mat:
Power strip:
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1:03 – Eat lots of protein
2:09 – Iron-rich foods
2:41- Be careful with fats
6:44 – Caffeine
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Thank you this was really helpful.
I developed a hematoma the last time I donated and today at Biolife, 2-3 people who were seated after me finished before I was halfway done. Eventually I had to be stopped because there was no flow. Peanut butter is my kryptonite and my breakfast this morning was certainly not fat free. It makes sense now!
You’re welcome! I’m sorry you had a rough experience. I hope it goes better for you in the future!
From my experience the issue with caffeine is that it constricts the blood vessels and makes it harder for them to stick you. I have smaller veins and had 2 bad experiences before I figured this out and stopped drinking coffee before donating
That’s a good point! Thanks for your comment.
why dont you just stop drinking coffee. your blood is healthier
@Danilo Escleto I’m not sure what you mean. My blood is healthy and I don’t feel I need to give up coffee
@Jill M coffee is horrible for u
I donated for the first time and had something go wrong. They couldn’t get the red blood cells back into my body. They were able to take the plasma just fine, but they were going to have to stick me again in my left arm, which is much harder to find the veins. Last thing I remember was telling the guy I was feeling light-headed. Then I woke up two minutes later with four associates looking at me and feeling clammy. I still don’t know what went wrong. I passed the pre test obviously. I’m hesitant to do it again. But I’m going to try again in three days
Oh my goodness I’m sorry! That feeling of passing out is awful. Usually the first time is the worst, so hopefully this next time will go well for you.
Thank you for your videos about donating plasma, I live in Miami and went for the first time on Thursday and I’m going for my second donation today. Thanks to all your tips and info, I felt fine during and after the process. My center is a CSL. I got $100 for my first and will get $125 today, I’m wondering if you know what the reward drops to after your first month? I’m definitely going to keep going but was just curious about it.
You’re welcome! I’m glad they were helpful! The pay depends on where you live, but I would guess it will drop to about $60 per donation.
100$ for donation? I get 30$ max here in Europe. I know is not just about money, but still that a huge difference.
If I eat a full meal before donating my pulse is always like 103 which is too high so a couple of bites and water and I’m good to go, but I’m beyond starving after, so I eat a heavy meal with a lot of meat when I get home.
That’s interesting! Yeah I guess everyone just finds what works for them!
I go with something simple scramble eggs and veggies and some water
Or if I’m light I’ll go with 3 apples and a boiled eggs make sure u eat 2 hours before u donate
I check out for all the qualifications on donating plasma and am looking into it, but I’m worried because I used to have chronically low blood pressure. This has since been resolved but once in a while it comes back to nip me in the bud and I’m worried if I donate plasma it’ll affect me; come back or make me faint or something ?
Good luck! ?
First time I ALMOST threw up, pooped myself and fainted? My blood pressure was very low. But I’ll try again. I am a little nervous now that I had this reaction. But thanks for the tips How to prepare well for my next visit.
Oh my gosh! Well good for you for giving it another shot. Good luck!
Want to add, regarding them checking protein levels. Getting sufficient protein is important, but other factors will cause too low protein. Lack of sleep will lower total protein levels. Drinking alcohol lowers protein levels. Lots of stress reduces total protein levels. Not eating enough calories reduces total protein levels. Ejaculation and intense exercise may reduce total blood protein levels.
Good to know! Thanks for your comment!
Normally when I go get plasma taken out, I have done cocaine and drank alcohol no problem the night prior. Just make sure to drink a lot of water
@Kevin Durant yea there are drug addicts in there who do drugs the morning of y’all just arnt healthy ?
Appreciate the useful information. I have a question. I have been donating Thursdays and Saturdays at Grifols and I had skipped this past Saturday and came back to donate Monday. Would that mean I can go back Wednesday as it’s a new week and also since I skipped Saturday which will now change my days to Monday and Wednesday that I can donate correct? Thanks in advance.
You wouldn’t be able to donate on Wednesday because that would be 3 times in a 7 day period since your last two donations were Thursday and Monday. If you want to change your schedule to Monday and Wednesday you would have to skip your second donation this week and start doing Monday and Wednesday next week. Sorry, I know that’s annoying!
@Zach Johnson I heard about the 7 day period but wasn’t sure so I called my center and they told me I can return tomorrow to donate. Might have been a new employee I was talking too. Figured I’d ask you as you seem very knowledgeable about donating. You saved me a trip and time. Appreciate your response!
@DMJ you’re welcome! I’m glad I could help! Odds are you would have shown up and the system wouldn’t have let you donate. That’s happened to me before. ?
Holy crap I never thought about how eating peanut butter will increase the fat levels in my blood (probably wrong terminology) I usually spend all day eating peanut butter for the protein before I go donate plasma !
Yeah I don’t blame you! Only some centers have machines that detect high fat content in the blood so a lot of times people don’t think about it!
Any idea how many grams of protein a person needs to average on a daily basis for donating? I have been getting in more than 100 grams, the other day I was above 200 grams. And then today when I donating my protein was at the bare minimum level. Thus, I am wondering if there is a formal based on body weight and how physically active a person is?
I don’t know for sure, but I would say as long as you are getting 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight you should be fine! That’s weird that your protein was low, because it sounds like you get plenty.
You could eat a 1000 grams of protein in a day, but your body and liver can only process so much of it.
Protein levels are important. I have been sent away a few times because my protein level was too low.
Very true.
So what supplements should I take since I’m a donor that goes twice a week . Like iron calcium etc… what vitamins should I take for healthy plasma and blood . Bc I know they check blood protein levels . Just wanna know what I should take for healthy plasma and blood . Thank you ?
If you are eating a balanced diet you shouldn’t have to worry about taking any supplements. Just make sure in your meals you have good sources of protein like meat and a good source of iron like spinach.
What should I do if I’m still feeling tired more than 24 hours after donating? Is it because I didn’t eat enough iron-rich foods even if I took it easy and went to bed early?
That’s a good question! Iron could be part of it. I would make sure to hydrate well, get some electrolytes, and eat a high protein meal afterwards. If you are good about doing that and the problem persists, I would ask a nurse at your donation center what they would recommend!
Hi there, I just did my first plasma donation yesterday and I made $100 which was awesome but I’m concerned about claiming on my taxes. Would you be able to make a video discussing how you’ve done it?
That’s a good question! I will look into making a video about it in the future, but I would just ask them for a printout of your donation history/payouts and that should give you all the info you need to report it on your taxes when that time rolls around.
@Carl Google yeah…
It’s tax free you don’t have to report it on your taxes
You don’t have to report this to your taxes at all, even your tax consultant will tell you that… Can you imagine being taxed for giving something that comes out of your body? We do have a corrupt government so maybe somewhere down the road it will happen
How long does the fat stay in your blood for? And how much does it take to set off the alarm? Is a small amount of fat okay or should it be completely avoided
Good question! I would say avoid it in general 3-4 hours before donating because even peanut butter or an avocado has enough fat in it to set off the alarm. I would wait at least 6 hours between having fatty foods and donating plasma to give it time to leave the blood stream.
@Zach Johnson 3:03 Exactly! Me too!? I can’t donate at KedPlasma without jamming up the machine on my return… but I can donate at Talecris (Grifols) in 43 minutes consistently. (an awful 2 to 3 hours at KedPlasma with their “new, state of the art machines” ??Booooo)
I also average around 380 for my platelet count which may or may not be a factor… ?
Total Cholesterol was 230 for me recently. ?
…Or is it an Rh Neg thing? ?
How far back will eating fatty or greasy foods affect your screening? Asking because my next day is the day after Thanksgiving and I’ll know I won’t be eating healthy on Thanksgiving lol
Hahaha good question. For Men it can take up to 33 hours for fat to leave the bloodstream, but I would guess if you eat well the day of and stay hydrated it won’t make much of a difference. Especially if you are donating later in the day!
@Zach Johnson That’s good to know. Appreciate it!
I go to octapharma and they totally suck, finding someone qualified to stick your arm is another challenge, if you get somebody bad and don’t know what they’re doing they can do a lot of damage, if you bruise in any way you’re better not to go back until the bruise is gone… If the bottle breaks while you’re donating then you are deferred for 52 days, I have been through all this already
Wow that’s crazy! I’m sorry, that’s rough.
No coffee. I got turned away because of my numbers and tech said no coffee the day before. Great video!!!!
Good advice. Thank you!
I donated plasma for the first time two days ago. I plan on going back later today. I live in Columbus Ohio and the center I went to give $100 for the first seven visits if you complete them in 35 days. I think it’s 60 or $70 after that
Bruh at csl in texas its been over $100 each donation.
@AtxJei Charlotte, NC it’s 135 right now but it changes
That’s not bad! I hope it goes well for you!