The last time I was unemployed was February/March 2007. Back then I had little money (maybe $2000?) and was spending it like there was no tomorrow. I watched TV while on eBay every. single. day. bidding for TV series on DVD and selling my junk. My boyfriend at the time had no problems with this and actually encouraged the behaviour (so much so that, when I did get another job he complained that I was never home to cook or clean etc and we broke up shortly afterwards. Pity because I really did like him a lot).
Anyways. Eventually money ran short. You can’t buy DVDs at Wal-Mart for $20, sell them on eBay for $5 and expect your savings to last forever. I lived in a really ghetto neighbourhood and, while conversing with the neighbours one day, we began talking about clinical trials.
Clinical trials work like this: You go to a clinic for a few days, get injected with various drugs and are a human guinea pig as the researchers document the side effects etc of the drug. Paying people to be guinea pigs is illegal in Canada so the researchers “compensate” you for the time that you spend at the clinic. Most of the trials pay between $1000-2000 for a few over-night stays but every once and awhile you’ll find a study that pays $4000+
I decided to try being a human guinea pig. The first step was to email the company and tell them that I was interested in participating. I received a call-back almost immediately asking me to come to their clinic (their far away clinic, I might add!) and have blood tests performed. I went, had all my tests done, signed a bunch of forms and was told that there was a waiting list to participate in studies because of the high demand. I sat by the phone for a few days afterwards hoping for a call but nothing came of it.
Why are clinical trials so popular? While I never thought to ask (because I was 18 and didn’t think of such things), I believe that this “compensation” doesn’t count as income and is therefore, not taxed, nor does it count towards reducing your EI or welfare benefits. This belief stems from the fact that clinical trials were very popular in my welfare-friendly neighbourhood (there are multiple companies which “recruit” human guinea pigs and the neighbours were on ALL the waiting lists). Maybe I’m being elitist, I don’t know.
Today, I don’t think that I would participate in a clinical trial. Even though I’m a very trusting person, I think that I was a bit naive in 2007 to think that clinical trials were a safe way to make $1000.
Would you participate in a clinical trial for $1000?
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If I was really hard up for money, I’d consider doing it. I’ve never been in that position, thankfully.
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It would absolutely depend on what it was. I have some friends who have done it, but mostly it was to treat fairly innocuous things, such as “try this new eczema cream.” 2 Broke Girls did it, haha.
The problem for me is how little I value marginal dollars now, so it would really depend on what it was, for $1000.
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Wes has done a trial before. I think it was for around $1,500 and it only required 2 overnight stays. He said the amount of blood draws was almost unbearable though.
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Personally? Probably not. I’ve had enough little medical quirks that doctors can’t easily explain that I wouldn’t want to be complicating the matter with potential long term drug side effects. That and I can’t even make it through a full blood donation, so I don’t see that working too well for me either.
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Depends on what is being tried, and the side effects. $1,000 is quite a lot of money but not if there are serious risks.
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I am not sure about Canada, but it definitely counts as taxable income in the US.
My BF did one once, though all it entailed was him hanging out with his friends drinking beer at his house while someone documented their every action for a few hours. That is basically my dream job.
lol that sounds awesome
I actually still volunteer at a research hospital every couple of years as a healthy control subject. It doesn’t pay nearly as much as a clinical trial for a drug company, but I figure it’s one way to help find a cure for various illnesses and make a few bucks in the bargain (without taking drugs being tested).
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Being a student in a HUGE medical center, I see advertisements for clinical trials a lot! I’m currently not willing to spend nights in the hospital/clinic for them, no matter how much they pay. I’m also not willing to walk all the way across campus to do a visual test for just $10 for an hour. I keep trying to get in flu vaccine studies, because I get the vaccine anyway, but they’re always already full for my “study group” (apparently white women in mid-20s are not hard to find).
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Here’s an even better question: would you donate your eggs/sperm for cash??
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Hmmm, good question. Honestly, I would because I think that I would make good babies and command a good price. Yes, I’d have to take painful shots etc. but $20-30k for a minor inconvenience? Yes please!