Blood is a crucial part in many medical procedures and emergencies in which organizations such as the American Red Cross are constantly advocating the public to donate it. They advertise that while you are doing a simple task, you may be saving someone’s life. In a study done by Johanne Charbonneau, who has a Ph.D in political science and Natalie Y-Lang Tran, it was found that most people gave blood because they considered it a “useful” gesture and wanted to “meet the needs of the sick”. The study was done over a period of three years and consisted of Charbonneau and Tran interviewing several blood donors. But, what these blood drive centers fail to tell the donor is that they sell the blood. Most donors don’t know that their pint of blood is helping contribute towards a $4.5 billion industry and why people are making money off their donation. While donating blood should be encouraged, one should consider how it affects the economy and the ethics that lay behind it.
According to Ben Bowman, the CEO of General Blood, a blood drive company, one pint of blood will generally be drawn from the donor and it will be sold for anywhere from $200 to $600. This price depends on where one lives and how much an insurer is willing to pay. For …show more content…
In a study done by Bruce Newman, PubMed writer, it was found that young donors, that is, any donor twenty three years or younger, experienced 54% of all vasovagal reactions that occur when one’s blood is drawn. These reactions include dizziness, sweating, pallor, and anxiety. Also, because they make the donor feel uncomfortable, they may even cause syncope reactions, or loss of consciousness. Often, these reactions will result in a donor from refraining to donate again. Youth is a huge risk factor which is what makes allowing blood to be drawn from such young donors so