A new BioLife Plasma Services center is expected to open in Nampa in fall 2015. BioLife centers collect plasma from paid donors to be used in a variety of ways to help save lives, according to a company spokesperson. The plasma, which makes up 57 percent of blood, is used to help people with hemophilia, immune disorders, infectious diseases, kidney disease and other conditions.
The new center will be located at 16554 Midland Blvd., and will be about 16,700 square feet, according to records from the Nampa building department. The building is valued at $5 million. It will employ between 50 and 70 people, the spokesperson said.
The Nampa location will be the fourth BioLife center in Idaho and the second locally. There is also one in Boise on Eagle Road.
BioLife collects nearly 3 million liters of plasma each year at its centers around the U.S. Plasma donation differs from whole blood donation and takes about 20 to 40 minutes longer, according to BioLife. Whole blood is drawn from the body and then separated into plasma and other elements using a sterile system. The other elements, including red and white blood cells and platelets, are returned to the donor.
People can donate plasma more often than whole blood, as much as twice in a seven-day period.