Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (July 6, 1978)
Photo by Greg Gawlowski Actually all the company wants is the plasma, so donors will soon be reinjected with their own red blood cells. Blood bank pumps city By JACK DESMOND Of the Emerald When Eugene sees a need, Eugene fills it. Eugeneans are flocking to a new enterprise that, along with Odyssey Records, may well rejuvenate the downtown mall. The Eugene Plasma Corporation (EPC), lo cated at 1071 Olive St., will draw your very own precious blood out, spin it around in a refrigerated centrifuge to separate the plasma from the red blood cells, re-inject your red blood cells with a saline solu tion, and send you off with a smile and $10 in cash plus a possible $5 extra if you happened to have clipped out the bonus coupon that was advertised in the Register-Guard. Business has been booming at the Center since it opened its doors June 12 as the facility is proces sing more than 100 people a day, says Director Allen Wickizer. Already the plasma center is booked solid through July 7 as customers flock to cash in on their bodies. The facility is already the second busiest in the U.S., bowing only to Orlando, Florida. Wickizer attri butes this phenomenon to Eugene’s “uniqueness” — that is, it contains a large number of college stu dents and transients always in need of spare cash. But a person doesn’t have to be happy with making a once-only $15. EPC offers career oppor tunities for anyone who likes to earn money flat on his back while having his blood drained out of his body. Since the red blood cells are returned to the body, a person is allowed to donate plasma twice a week indefinitely unlike whole blood which can be only donated once every two months. For those hardy enough, a seventh donation within a one month period gamers a $7 bonus in addition to the regular $10 while an eighth,earns an extra $8. So, an enterprising capitalist can potentially earn $100 in the first month. However, an energetic person who’s managed to survive eight bloodlettings need not stop even there and can earn even more by recruiting others. For each body that he manages to lure to the center, he receives $5 more as a referral bonus. But the really big bucks can be made if you happen to have blood that contains anti-E or anti-D components. Wickizer wouldn’t reveal how much those donors could earn, but he remarked "consid erably more” with the emphasis on “considerably.” If EPC is willing to pay that much money for plasma, one wonders how much the company sells it for. “That’s a top secret," responded Wickizer with a smile. Fortunately, Scott Wright, director of Lane Memorial Blood Bank (LMBB), doesn’t have to show a profit for his blood bank and revealed that LMBB sells a.ljter of plasma for $47. He said it,was safe to assume that EPC was selling its plasma for even more. Nor did the two directors feel that they would be competing for the same clientele. Wickizer will be aiming his sales pitch towards college students. He plans to put up posters around the campus with tear-off coupons offering $5 bonuses, and has al ready taken an ad out in the Student Directory. “I think there is a possibility initially,” said Wright about the competition. But he felt that in the long run, there wouldn't be much. Wickizer claimed that stu dents are not a dependable source of donors for blood bank programs and that he would be taking people who normally don’t donate blood simply for credit. However, in the fall Wickizer does face the pos sibility of heated competition for bodies to extract plasma frortv Hyland Laboratories of Costa Mesa, California, is considering leasing the defunct Ellingsworth’s clothing store adjacent to Odyssey Records on the mall. Wickizer feels that Eugene isn't big enough to support two plasma centers though his business has so far been phenomenal. Currently, EPC’s parent corporation, North American Biologicals, Inc., is negotiating with Hyland Laboratories about the pos sibility of EPC supplying plasma to Hyland iO prevent the laboratory from moving to Eugene and saturating the fertile fields of the plasma business. In the meantime, Wickizer must deal with the backlog of people at the facility. Because the center recently just opened, it is still processing large num bers of people who want to become donors on a regular basis. Regular donors are required to pass a physical, various other chemical tests, and are tested every few months to check if their protein level is still normal. These tests all require extra time say his four busy counter attendants. While one is checking the blood pressure of a possible donor, two more are going down a list of questions asking people if they’ve ever had certain diseases, and the fourth is handing out money and taking Polaroid snapshots of people ac cepted as regular donors. At present, the center can process a donor through the cycle in three hours. Wickizer is hoping to lower the time span to one hour and 15 minutes once the regular donors have all been certified. He may also open for business on Saturdays and lengthen the number of hours that the facility stays open. For Howard Clark, his first crack at this fabled gold mine fell through. Reduced to living in a van and supporting himself on food stamps, the plasma center offered a needed shot in the arm to his budget. However, when he went down to the facility last Thursday, because he was only able to show one piece of ID, the center refused him because it re quires two pieces of identification. Now, Clark is scheming to get another piece of ID and may even hitchhike down to LA to pick up his birth certificate. He isn’t about to pass up the career of a lifetime. Museum of Art finds new friends to build collection Jeanne Johnson is the newly installed Chairer of the Friends of the Museum at the University. Diana Berry is Vice-Chairer; Deanna Koenig, Secretary; and Walter Paulin, Treasurer. The Friends of the Museum is a non-profit support organization for the University’s Museum of Art. Through its fund raising efforts it has been very helpful in expanding the Museum’s permanent collection as well as aiding in bringing important exhibitions to its galleries. The Friends of the Museum sponsors many programs in art ap preciation and education. One of these is the Visual Arts Resources, begun by the Friends, which is a vital outreach program bringing the resources of the Museum to outlying areas of the state and to the country. Another is the Docent Council of the “Friends" which provides trained volunteer tour-guides for the Museum’s permanent and chang ing exhibitions. Two soon-to-be-available projects of the Friends are the Public Arts Brochure, a walking guide to public art in the Eugene area, and a cookbook published by the Gourmet Group of the Friends. Not only will it contain superb recipes from outstanding cooks in the area, but it will also contain original fine artwork of local artists and photographers. HAIR TODAY Downstairs in the EMU 561 E. 13th Ave. close to the recreation center Across from Max’s 687-1347 485-4422 NATURAL HAIR DESIGNS FOR WOMEN & MEN! $6.50 Dry cut designed for your hair and you, for those on a tight schedule. $9.00 wet style designed for you and your hair lor easy care and the air-waved style. A completed style to go anywhere. $12.00 includes shampoo, moisterizing conditioner, blow dry and a hair cut designed for you. A completed easy care style. Remember: we carry the finest of professional hair care products for you to use. 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