You can make money selling blood. It won't be a full time job, obviously, but it can be an easy and quite painless way to help bolster the monthly income to pay the bills. How much can you expect to make selling blood? You could make perhaps a few hundred dollars a month. It depends on your health and how often you are willing to do it.

You should bear in mind that you cannot actually "sell" your blood or plasma, a component of blood, but you can donate it. When you donate it to the right places, you can expect to be compensated for doing so.

There are certain stipulations that you must fulfil before you will be allowed to donate your blood or plasma. If you find that you are eligible, the next thing you should do is find out where you can donate blood in your area. Try looking through the Yellow Pages for a blood bank or blood collection facility, or a plasma collection center.

You must be at least 18 years old and under the age of 59 to donate blood or plasma. You should also be in good health with no obvious or known diseases. While being a bit overweight should not be a problem, you must weigh at least 110 pounds. Donating blood or plasma is, of course, one way to get a free health check.

Plasma is a component of blood, so when you donate blood you are also donating plasma. It's the clear kind of yellowish fluid that can be separated from the red blood cells. The plasma helps to transport water and nutrients to the body's cells. Plasma is essential for blood transfusions, and for burns and shock victims.

If you are donating blood they will take all of the red stuff that comes out of your veins. If you are only donating plasma, they will take out the blood intact, separate the plasma from the red blood cells, and then put the red blood cells back into your body. Your body will quickly re-generate plasma and you will be just as you were before in no time.

When you have located a center where you can donate blood or plasma, eat something around two hours or so beforehand. Drink lots of water, more than usual but not too much. This will help to avoid any lightheadedness you may experience, which is common.

At the center you will have to fill in forms and answer questions the first time you go. They will give you a health check, enquire about any tattoos or piercings you may have had in the past year, and you will also be screened for any trace of drugs in your body. If all goes well and they agree to accept your donation, you will have to sign a waiver form.

The first time you donate blood or plasma will probably take a couple of hours in total. After that they will only have to review your medical history, which should take no more than a few minutes. The whole procedure on subsequent visits should be over in 30 to 45 minutes.

You can donate blood or plasma twice a week. Expect to be compensated for your donation by around $35 a time, though this may vary. If you have been vaccinated for hepatitis B you will probably be able to earn a little more.