It's Your Hour

BioLife Plasma Services makes saving lives comfortable and easy.

Interim Center Manager Steven Ables encourages others to save lives through donating plasma.

There never seems to be enough hours in the day. Between the pile of work on the desk and everything waiting at home, the to-do list never seems to get any smaller. But what if you used just one hour to save a life instead of running errands or grabbing an afternoon pick me up? BioLife Plasma Services makes donating plasma and saving lives a safe, clean process in a family-oriented environment.
BioLife Plasma Services was started by Baxter Healthcare about 17 years ago. The company was producing pharmaceuticals at the time that required plasma, so in order to ensure that plasma collection, they started purchasing existing centers and eventually established BioLife. The center in Broken Arrow is the only one of its kind in the state of Oklahoma.
The company stands out from it’s competitors because it focuses on the donor experience. Rather than build in downtown areas that are known to produce high volume, BioLife builds away from low-income areas.
“We tend to market our centers in communities where we can contribute to the culture and commercial vitality of the neighborhood.  Our donors are often people who are trying to supplement incomes, people like teachers or stay-at-home parents who want to earn extra income for vacations or for holidays, while also doing something positive to help others,” said Interim Center Manager Steven Ables. “Our donors spend about an hour, as often as twice a week, in our centers to help save someone’s life or improve the quality of it, and so they are compensated for their commitment to the program.”
BioLife prides itself on it’s excellence in plasma collecting and customer service. Their goal is for donors to be able to donate in a safe, clean, family-oriented environment. The company has been awarded an Operational Excellence Award and a Health and Safety Award from Baxter Healthcare for no health and safety violations.
All BioLife centers have free wi-fi available for their donors as well as supervised play room facilities for donors with children.
“We try to be family-oriented,” said Ables. “We hear from our donors all the time how happy it makes them that they don’t have to find a babysitter to come and donate.”
New donors are always welcomed at BioLife. The company is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration and aims for excellence in all areas. The center offers a vast amount of information for the first-time donor to calm any worries and answer any questions.
“We have a lot of information on our website for first-time donors,” Ables said. “Definitely read up on that before you come in to donate, it’ll tell you everything you need to know to prepare from what to eat prior to what to bring with you.”
Save a life today and donate plasma with BioLife Plasma Services in Broken Arrow. The center’s hours are Monday 10 a.m. – 7:30 p.m., Tuesday - Friday 6 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. and Saturday 7 a.m. – 5 p.m.