By D.C. Morrow

The desperate need to subsidize your income can lead to some creative and resourceful reactions. At times when you become really hard up for cash and in a pinch for some immediate spending money or bill payment, consider the very essence of what you have to offer … part of yourself. You can earn $200-$250 a month donating your plasma. For more information, you can become a first time donor by signing up with AventisThis site will provide you with specific information concerning the process, your eligibility to donate, and the location of your nearest donation center.

Perhaps you might consider some alternative but no less lucrative ventures. There are also facilities set up to accept egg and sperm donations. You can find several sites online and there’s a reasonable chance you can find a nearby fertility organization through your Yellow Pages. Be wary of the dot.com corporations that offer even more money for international donations. These can sometimes be scams. Whenever possible, work through legitimate healthcare facilities.

Realize that at first you’ll be subjected a lot of questions, poking and prodding. Some of it can seem time consuming, annoying and pretty uncomfortable. With the knowledge that is available now concerning transmission of viral and genetically linked diseases, most of their testing is medically necessary. You may get the feeling that you are little more than a lab rat to the people with whom you’re dealing. With the potential risks to recipients of your donations, the people involved will error on the side of being “too clinical” as opposed to “overly courteous”.

You may reach the point where you’ll be questioning whether it’s all worth it for a few hundred dollars. First, what else would you be doing with your time. Second, the biological donations you are providing can literally save lives, save marriages, and produce untold happiness for the recipients and their families.

Donations are a personal decision and not for everyone. But most of the time the procedures, from a personal comfort perspective, are less painful and are conducted under higher levels of sterility than most body piercing procedures or tattooing. Plus, a week later, your only reminder perhaps will be a lower Visa balance or a penalty-free bill payment.

DC Morrow is the author of Survival After College available through Selfhelpbooks.com(c) Copyright 2003 DC Morrow/Selfhelpbooks.com