UPDATE/CORRECTION: This article was updated to reflect comments from B Positive’s CEO received after publication, as well as correct the location’s direct address and weekly earning cap which is $100 instead of $50.
Wanna get paid for helping to save a life? You’ll be able to do that when B Positive Plasma opens in Bethlehem’s Stefko Boulevard Shopping Center at 1812 Stefko Blvd. The Morning Call reports that the blood plasma collection site is currently under construction and will open in the summer of 2022.
“We chose the location as we thought it would be a great fit for the local community. Plasma derived medicines are in critical need, and there were no plasma centers in the immediate area,” Benjamin Ruder, B Positive Plasma’s CEO, told What Now Philadelphia.
B Positive will inhabit a 3,200 sq. ft. space in the shopping center which has been vacant for over a decade. Donors can make up to $500 a month at B Positive. All blood types are welcome at B Positive. To be an eligible donor, you must be feeling well and pass their medical exam, be between the ages of 18 to 65, weigh between 110 and 400 lbs., live within 50 miles of one of their centers, and have proper identification and documentation. Qualified donors can donate up to twice a week at $100 per week and are paid $50 per donation on a reloadable B Positive Visa debit card.
First-time donations are used to test the safety and quality of one’s plasma. It can only be used for life-saving medical therapies after your second donation is made, and both have negative test results per standards set by the Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association. After that, your plasma can be used to help patients with conditions like hemophilia and immune system deficiencies. It can also help treat and prevent diseases like tetanus, rabies, measles, hepatitis B, and rubella.
Plasma is one of four components that make up blood, including red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. It’s the yellow liquid part of blood that is primarily composed of water and acts as a carrier for cells and other blood components. It is collected for its dissolved proteins, clotting factors, and antibodies. Unlike blood, plasma cannot be created synthetically.
B Positive Plasma also plans on opening new centers in Scranton and Philadelphia.
