With a piece of mail in one hand and a Social Security card in the other, sophomore Clay Pittman began the three-hour process of paper work and tests.
In the end, he left with $25 in his pocket and the potential for another $45 every week, all without an ounce of work.
Without traditional work that is. He gave ounces of something else.
Pittman earns his extra money by donating plasma at BioLife Plasma Services.
BioLife, located on Madison Street, is a collection site for blood plasma. Donors are compensated up to $180 a month in alternating payments of $20 and $25 for each donation, according to BioLife.
But the process isn't as simple as drawing blood.
Potential donors must make an appointment to complete the application process before they are approved to donate.
Kent Bollis, medical director of the Ball State Health Center, said this is a very-important part of the process. Potential donors must be honest.
"When someone goes to donate, they ask certain questions about risk factors for diseases," Bollis said. "So if someone lies just to donate plasma, he can ... contaminate lots of blood products."
Once potential donors show they are not contaminated, they are qualified to donate, and retrieving the plasma takes less time than the paperwork.
"I was expecting it to (take) only 20 minutes, but I was there for three hours the first time," Pittman said. "I had to get a physical and answer questions about my sexual history."
After his blood pressure, temperature, pulse and iron levels were taken -- which is done before every donation -- Pittman began the donation process.
Plasma accounts for 57 percent of the 12 pints of blood running through the body, according the BioLife Plasma Services' Web site, and the plasma must first be separated from the blood.
Blood is drawn from the arm into the separation machine via a tube. The blood is then put into a disposable centrifuge to separate it from the plasma. The clear-yellow plasma is collected in a plastic container at the bottom of the machine.
Blood is collected in a separate reservoir and mixed with an anticoagulant, a solution to prevent clotting. Once the reservoir is full, the blood is pumped back into the arm. The process then repeats until the desired amount of plasma, which is determined by weight, is gathered.
Once the process is complete, a saline solution is administered to the donor through a needle to compensate for the loss of fluid.
Pittman shuttered at the recollection.
"The worst part was them putting in the saline because it's really cold," he said. "(When it's done), they wrap you up in a bandage and give you your $25."
The tubing, reservoir and centrifuge are all disposed of.
As with any medical procedure, donating plasma involves risk, Bollis said.
"(Plasma) facilities are very, very closely regulated by the FDA," Bollis said. Mishaps such as mixing blood or sticking a donor with a contaminated needle are theoretical risks, although Bollis said he has never heard of that happening.
He did say there are more-common risks, though.
"They take a lot of proteins from the blood," he said. "If (the donor's) nutrition isn't very good, and they are giving away proteins, it could affect their health, but there are a lot of regulations to keep donors from getting into trouble."
Pittman said he has never had any problems, but a girl accompanying him for the first time did.
"My friend had huge bruises on her arm for three weeks; she looked like a heroin addict," he said laughing.
The plasma BioLife collects is used for research purposes and sold to manufacturers that produce medicine from the proteins it contains. Bollis said such medicines treat hemophilia, immune system deficiencies and malnourished cancer patients.
Plasma also helps the circulation of red and white blood cells and platelets. It also carries minerals, antibodies and proteins throughout the body. Without plasma, blood could not flow and illnesses could not be combated, and it is impossible to manufacture, so it must be collected from donors.
"Plasma is such a complex substance," Bollis said. "(We) can't make plasma because it is made of tons of protein and nutrition, and it changes from minute to minute depending on what you eat. There's no way to produce the thousands of components."
Pittman, however, doesn't think about the thousands of components.
"It only takes about an hour, and it's not hard work," Pittman said, shrugging his shoulders, "and in the end, you know you're helping out a good cause."
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