MONEY SHOULD BE GIVEN TO PLASMA DONORS

Charity, donations, volunteering, etc. – there’s honestly no way to get around it: You are selling your plasma, for “compensation,” monetary aid, reward, etc.

The companies are giving you money for your plasma. There’s not a single person that denies the usefulness of blood plasma for treating many illnesses and yet, we still cannot wrap our brains around how morally dubious it seems that you are selling a part of you. But it is time for us to admit to ourselves that the only sustainable way to get enough plasma supply not just in America, but globally, is by paid donations.

One of the most common arguments against paid plasma donations is that we are able to (at least relatively) meet the demands of blood strictly through volunteer donating. However, according to the American Red Cross, there is currently a “severe shortage” of blood supply while the U.S. continues to be exporting plasma.

The immediate reaction to this fact is that the COVID pandemic is believed to be the reason why people have not been donating sufficient blood. This actually supports the idea of the necessity of paid donations for plasma, as despite the pandemic the U.S. is still able to export plasma, indicating that the minimum demands for plasma here are at least met primarily through the transactions of paid donation. Paying for plasma ensures that even during a pandemic, the demand for plasma is still being met or, at least, there is not a serious shortage.

There is another factor in why people should be paid to donate plasma, which is time. While one might expect the process of donating blood and plasma to be relatively the same, the time it takes to donate plasma is significantly longer. Donating blood itself takes about 8-10 minutes, while giving plasma takes about 45 minutes. In addition, the Red Cross will only accept blood donations every 8 weeks or more, while most plasma donation centers will accept visits as often as twice a week. While 2-month gaps are distanced enough that one wouldn’t mind spending about an hour (including travel) to donate blood, twice weekly visits at 1.5 hours per visit is (including travel) is a lot more demanding on schedules. If an individual was earning $15 an hour, for example, through opportunity costs they would lose only $7.50 per month (unpaid time from work) if they donated blood at the maximum frequency allowed by the Red Cross but would lose $45 per month if they took the time to donate plasma.

The most reasonable argument against plasma donation, in principle, is that individuals will lie to donate their plasma in order to get paid. This is unfortunately hard to avoid and there is no simple solution. In fact, when I asked the plasma center staff about the subject, it was confirmed anecdotally that there were instances of donors’ deceit.

Nothing would stop me from saying I didn’t have my blood contaminated through a tattoo shop even if I did, for example. The plasma industry accepts this potential as a reality and so it makes sure to test all plasma before it is used. In my case, while I never lied to the donation center about any situation that could’ve disqualified me that day, the staff made sure to test me and on one occasion, I failed the blood pressure test and was sent home to test again.

This reassures the ulitmate patients that the plasma used to make their medication is safe, and reassures the public that it would be difficult to contaminate the plasma supply with a bad apple. This also reassures the donors that the process is safe, if protocols are followed.

If all my arguments here fail to persuade, at least consider the ripple effect of what paid donations have done for the global community and the poor. The U.S. supplies around two-thirds of the world’s plasma and despite this, only 40% of the world’s demand for plasma is met. What if the U.S. were to stop exporting all of our plasma to the world? Now instead of 40% of the global demand being met, only about 12-14% would be met and the countries who relied on American exports of plasma would either have to pay an even bigger premium for plasma, which burdens their poor even further, or they would have to go without plasma, which also hurst their citizens.

This could be avoided if more countries adopted the paid plasma donation system. In addition to the greater ability to meet demand, paid plasma donation also provides a relatively safe way to supplement income for the poor. In a similar argument, say, from the pro-choice movement regarding abortions, banning the sale of blood plasma doesn’t eliminate the need for income but only gets rid of one safe avenue to earn income.

At least selling one’s plasma helps those in legitimate need. And at the end of the day, does it really matter how we make money if it is a safe means to feed ourselves and our families, wipe out our debts or simply just earn spending money?