Respondents all agreed that they were indeed being exploited, but in more ways than one. Desperate Americans are allowed to donate twice per week (104 times per year). But losing that much plasma could have serious health consequences, most of which have not been studied Professor Schaefer warns, stressing that more research is necessary. Around 70 percent of donors experience health complications. Donors have a lower protein count in their blood, putting them at greater risk of infections and liver and kidney disorders. Many regulars suffer from near-permanent fatigue and are borderline anemic. All this for an average of $30 per visit. Rachel described the terrible Catch-22 many of the working poor find themselves in:
“I got turned away twice – once for being too dehydrated and once for being anemic. Being poor created a shitty paradox where I couldn’t eat, and because I couldn’t eat my iron levels weren’t high enough to allow me to donate. That was a week of a pay cut, money I desperately needed for rent and bills and meds.”
boingboing.net/2019/12/09/leeched.html
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of blood during 2018.
Ireland: US$3.2 billion (37.8% of total blood exports)
United States: $1.4 billion (16.3%)
Germany: $696.3 million (8.3%)
France: $546.9 million (6.5%)
Denmark: $513.3 million (6.1%)
United Kingdom: $498.8 million (5.9%)
South Korea: $173.6 million (2.1%)
Netherlands: $160 million (1.9%)
Italy: $154.5 million (1.8%)
Belgium: $100.9 million (1.2%)
Switzerland: $80.9 million (1%)
China: $78.3 million (0.9%)
Canada: $78.1 million (0.9%)
Austria: $76 million (0.9%)
Poland: $75 million
AC