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This rebroadcast originally aired on February 28th, 2023.
Millions of Americans sell their blood plasma every year. It’s part of a global, multibillion dollar business.
“If you go to the Red Cross … you are limited to donating 13 times a year — once every 28 days,” Kathleen McLaughlin, author of the new book Blood Money, says.
“If you go to a for-profit plasma center to sell plasma, you can do it twice a week, up to 104 times a year.”
But what is plasma used for, and why is it a big, largely hidden business?
Today, On Point: Inside the for-profit business of selling blood plasma around the world.
Guests
Kathleen McLaughlin, journalist. Author of the new book Blood Money: The Story of Life, Death and Profit Inside America’s Blood Industry. (@kemc)
Dr. Morey Blinder, hematologist. Professor of medicine at the School of Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis.
Also Featured
Patrick Herdener, longtime blood plasma donor who donates more than 100 times per year.
Darryl Wellington, journalist who has reported on the plasma economy. Poet laureate of Santa Fe, New Mexico. (@darrylwellingto)
Cory Lyons, Columbia, South Carolina resident who sold plasma in college.
Jenni Hecht, Sturgis, Michigan resident and plasma seller.
Kathi Young, Cameron, North Carolina resident and plasma seller.
Mary Seebach, Middletown, Ohio resident and plasma seller.
Interview Highlights
What is plasma and why is it important?
Dr. Morey Blinder: “Plasma is the liquid part of blood, which is about 55% of the total blood volume. The rest of the blood is composed of the cells, such as red cells and white cells and platelets. And there are ways to donate the blood as whole blood, usually through volunteer donor programs. And then there are ways to donate. Just the plasma that we’ve been speaking about. The plasma is usually collected in for-profit centers, and the whole blood that’s collected is generally volunteer, the donors are not reimbursed for this…
Read the full article here
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