Amidst the cost of living crisis, an increasing number of Americans are turning to alternative sources. While many pick up gig work, such as driving Uber or delivering food, plasma donation has increasingly become an option to hold people over until their next paychecks. Plasma is the yellow liquid component of blood that does not contain any red blood cells. It is essential to treating trauma and cancer patients, as well as patients with autoimmune diseases and other conditions. The proteins in plasma are also frequently distilled for use in pharmaceuticals.
Over 200,000 people a day in the United States donate blood, contributing to the country producing 70% of the world’s supply. Unlike donating whole blood, it is legal to pay someone to donate their plasma, typically between $30-70 per donation. The price varies, and is even susceptible to surge pricing, where payouts per donation can either drop or increase depending on the number of donors for that month.The U.S. is one of the five countries in the world that allows for plasma compensation. It also allows people to donate up to twice a week, or 104 donations a year, compared to other countries who cap the donation frequency to 50 times a year. With the cost of living becoming increasingly expensive, there has been a 30% increase in plasma sales since 2022, and it is projected to become a 45.7 billion dollar industry by 2027.
Currently, there are more than 1,200 donation centers across the country, and 80% of donation centers are located in low-income, primarily Black neighborhoods, where donors are systemically underemployed. Developers scout for neighborhoods with higher concentrations of payday lenders and pawn shops to build new plasma donation centers. Studies have found that access to a plasma donation center reduces reliance on payday loans by 6.5%, and 13.1% for younger borrowers. The majority are using the money received to pay for life essentials such as groceries and rent. Many see donating as an alternative to accruing debt, but they pay an additional cost with their bodies – common side effects of donating include nausea, dizziness, and fatigue. Currently, the potential long-term side effects caused by consistent plasma donation are unknown and unstudied. What is known is that blood donation is a highly profitable global industry, and building donation centers in neighborhoods where people struggle to afford basic needs is highly exploitative.
The irony is that while most people donate their blood for $30-70, many would be financially devastated by receiving treatment that would require a plasma transfusion, or treatment for any of the diseases that require plasma distillation. Working people sell their blood for pennies on the dollar, and then are forced to buy it back at many times the price they were originally paid for it. If capitalism cannot even value the very substance that keeps us alive without turning it into a predatory transaction, then it has outlived its usefulness. Its end is overdue!
