Of all the ways to make extra cash, selling yourself to science may be one the most unique. But modern medicine is big business, and there are organizations, companies and research facilities more than willing to pay volunteers for their time.
The simplest way to make spare cash through medical research is by donating plasma through a commercial plasma center. These facilities are located in almost every city and pay between $10-20 per donation. You can donate up to twice a week in most places, although you should see how your body handles donating before committing to such a frequent schedule.
Donating your time -and body- to a clinical trial is another way to help both science and your bank account. Universities, research institutes and companies often carry out complex research projects needing hundreds of volunteers. These trials can be as involved as spending a few months only eating food provided by the researchers to study diet or as simple as donating a blood sample and filling out a questionnaire.
If you have a particular disease or condition, like diabetes or obesity, the pay can be much higher and you could even receive free experimental medication for your condition. Some studies are purely psychological in nature, offering pay for personality tests or sleep studies.Anything requiring more effort on your part will, of course, pay better- sometimes into the thousands of dollars!
Finding these studies is easy. Local universities and hospitals advertise paying projects in campus newspapers, bulletin boards, local weeklies and classifieds and on their own websites.Organizations like Benchmark Research arrange paid studies in cities around the U.S. and Clinical Trials.gov , offers a searchable database of studies filtered by location.
A third way to make money selling yourself to science is by doing so literally, in the form of sperm and egg donation. Sperm donation is a well-established industry, but egg donation is a relatively new phenomena. Because of the complexity in getting eggs and the fact that there is some pain involved, companies typically offer $5000- $10,000 for each egg donation. Any special attributes that might make your child more valuable - such as good grades (which show intelligence), a stint in a professional orchestra (musical skills) or a spot on your college varsity softball team (athletic prowess) - can drive up the price significantly. One clinic recently offered $100,000 for the eggs of a woman with "college level athletic ability."
Recruiters for egg donation frequently advertise on college campuses, so check your local university newspaper classifieds for leads. In the end, making spare cash through medical science not only helps you, but helps make the world a little better, too.
For more information, check out our bookstore for a great selection of books about clinical trials and reproductive donation