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This is not about donating blood to the Red Cross, this is about the plasma donation industry, which is only for-profit in the US and supplies much of the world

This is not about donating blood to the Red Cross, this is about the plasma donation industry, which is only for-profit in the US and supplies much of the world. Only a few companies operate in this space, I've studied it closely. Baxalta runs a big chain, BioLife, as does CSL. If we accept that selling organs is prohibited and unethical then we should also accept the same for selling plasma.

kgwgk 10y ago
What about hair, milk, sperm or oocytes?
- x0137294744532 10y ago
  You can donate hair, milk, sperm or oocytes as frequently as you like without affecting your health. This is not the case for organs or plasma.
  - kgwgk 10y ago
    Could you donate sperm 100 times per day without affecting your health? I'm impressed! (Edit: assuming you're an sperm producing individual.(I was going to say 'man', but I don't want to risk offending anyone again.)) Seriously, egg donation seems to affect your health more than plasma donation. According to wikipedia: Birth control pills are administered during the first few weeks of the egg donation process to synchronize the donor's cycle with the recipient's, followed by a series of injections which halt the normal functioning of the donor's ovaries. These injections may be self-administered on a daily basis for a period of one to three weeks. Next, follicle-stimulating hormones (FSH) are given to the donor to stimulate egg production and increases the number of mature eggs produced by the ovaries. Throughout the cycle the donor is monitored often by a physician using blood tests and ultrasound exams to determine the donor's reaction to the hormones and the progress of follicle growth. Once the doctor decides the follicles are mature, he/she will establish the date and time for the egg retrieval procedure. Approximately 36 hours before retrieval, the donor must administer one last injection of HCG hormone to ensure that her eggs are ready to be harvested. The egg retrieval itself is a minimally invasive surgical procedure lasting 20–30 minutes, performed under sedation (but sometimes without any). A small ultrasound-guided needle is inserted through the vagina to aspirate the follicles in both ovaries, which extracts the eggs. After resting in a recovery room for an hour or two, the donor is released. Most donors resume regular activities by the next day.
    - chimeracoder 10y ago
      > Seriously, egg donation seems to affect your health more than plasma donation Yes, for a healthy individual, the act of donating plasma is about as risk free as you can get. Perhaps sperm donation is the only less risky live tissue donation. The reason we pay for it is that, if we didn't, we wouldn't have enough, and people would die. That's not speculative - countries which don't pay for plasma donation end up buying it from the US. Donating eggs can have really serious complications even for healthy individuals - its not a trivial procedure, and even when performed correctly, it carries a small risk of infertility. That's not to say you shouldn't do it, but there's another reason that we shouldn't expect women to do it for free - that actually becomes a lot more exploitative than providing up-front compensation and a full explanation of the risks, which we do.
      - kgwgk 10y ago
        A minor clarification: plasma donation is not even about "live tissue". You get your blood cells back, only the plasma is taken.
rtkwe 10y ago
Except there's a huge difference between organs and blood plasma. Plasma donation is basically risk free, it regenerates, and has no long term health effects pretty much the exact opposite of any organ donation which are really risky and invasive and also leave the donor vulnerable to long term health risks. Equating them is pretty ridiculous.
- dbg31415 10y ago
  And there are arguably other benefits to donating blood; at minimum you're getting a little checkup every time you donate. Donating regularly will help you better monitor your resting pulse, blood pressure, cholesterol levels...
dbg31415 10y ago
> If we accept that selling organs is prohibited and unethical then we should also accept the same for selling plasma. Do we agree that selling organs is a bad idea though? * The Sale of Human Organs (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) || https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/organs-sale/ https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/organs-sale/ * Why Legalizing Organ Sales Would Help to Save Lives, End Violence - The Atlantic || https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2011/11/why-legalizing-organ-sales-would-help-to-save-lives-end-violence/248114/ https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2011/11/why-legal... * Cash for Kidneys: The Case for a Market for Organs - WSJ || http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304149404579322560004817176 http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB100014240527023041494045793225... * Most people are okay with 'selling' organs — and it might be wise - Business Insider || http://www.businessinsider.com/can-you-sell-organs-2016-9 http://www.businessinsider.com/can-you-sell-organs-2016-9 And... it's not like the rich aren't already buying organs... why not legalize, make transparent, and regulate the process for all? * Liver Transplant for Steven Jobs of Apple Raises Questions - The New York Times || http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/23/business/23liver.html http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/23/business/23liver.html * Steve Jobs' liver transplant: Did he game the system? || http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/human_nature/2011/01/how_did_steve_jobs_get_his_liver.html http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/human_natur...

kgwgk 10y ago

What about hair, milk, sperm or oocytes?

x0137294744532 10y ago
You can donate hair, milk, sperm or oocytes as frequently as you like without affecting your health. This is not the case for organs or plasma.
- kgwgk 10y ago
  Could you donate sperm 100 times per day without affecting your health? I'm impressed! (Edit: assuming you're an sperm producing individual.(I was going to say 'man', but I don't want to risk offending anyone again.)) Seriously, egg donation seems to affect your health more than plasma donation. According to wikipedia: Birth control pills are administered during the first few weeks of the egg donation process to synchronize the donor's cycle with the recipient's, followed by a series of injections which halt the normal functioning of the donor's ovaries. These injections may be self-administered on a daily basis for a period of one to three weeks. Next, follicle-stimulating hormones (FSH) are given to the donor to stimulate egg production and increases the number of mature eggs produced by the ovaries. Throughout the cycle the donor is monitored often by a physician using blood tests and ultrasound exams to determine the donor's reaction to the hormones and the progress of follicle growth. Once the doctor decides the follicles are mature, he/she will establish the date and time for the egg retrieval procedure. Approximately 36 hours before retrieval, the donor must administer one last injection of HCG hormone to ensure that her eggs are ready to be harvested. The egg retrieval itself is a minimally invasive surgical procedure lasting 20–30 minutes, performed under sedation (but sometimes without any). A small ultrasound-guided needle is inserted through the vagina to aspirate the follicles in both ovaries, which extracts the eggs. After resting in a recovery room for an hour or two, the donor is released. Most donors resume regular activities by the next day.
  - chimeracoder 10y ago
    > Seriously, egg donation seems to affect your health more than plasma donation Yes, for a healthy individual, the act of donating plasma is about as risk free as you can get. Perhaps sperm donation is the only less risky live tissue donation. The reason we pay for it is that, if we didn't, we wouldn't have enough, and people would die. That's not speculative - countries which don't pay for plasma donation end up buying it from the US. Donating eggs can have really serious complications even for healthy individuals - its not a trivial procedure, and even when performed correctly, it carries a small risk of infertility. That's not to say you shouldn't do it, but there's another reason that we shouldn't expect women to do it for free - that actually becomes a lot more exploitative than providing up-front compensation and a full explanation of the risks, which we do.
    - kgwgk 10y ago
      A minor clarification: plasma donation is not even about "live tissue". You get your blood cells back, only the plasma is taken.

rtkwe 10y ago

Except there's a huge difference between organs and blood plasma. Plasma donation is basically risk free, it regenerates, and has no long term health effects pretty much the exact opposite of any organ donation which are really risky and invasive and also leave the donor vulnerable to long term health risks. Equating them is pretty ridiculous.

dbg31415 10y ago
And there are arguably other benefits to donating blood; at minimum you're getting a little checkup every time you donate. Donating regularly will help you better monitor your resting pulse, blood pressure, cholesterol levels...

dbg31415 10y ago

> If we accept that selling organs is prohibited and unethical then we should also accept the same for selling plasma. Do we agree that selling organs is a bad idea though? * The Sale of Human Organs (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) || https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/organs-sale/ https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/organs-sale/ * Why Legalizing Organ Sales Would Help to Save Lives, End Violence - The Atlantic || https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2011/11/why-legalizing-organ-sales-would-help-to-save-lives-end-violence/248114/ https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2011/11/why-legal... * Cash for Kidneys: The Case for a Market for Organs - WSJ || http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304149404579322560004817176 http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB100014240527023041494045793225... * Most people are okay with 'selling' organs — and it might be wise - Business Insider || http://www.businessinsider.com/can-you-sell-organs-2016-9 http://www.businessinsider.com/can-you-sell-organs-2016-9 And... it's not like the rich aren't already buying organs... why not legalize, make transparent, and regulate the process for all? * Liver Transplant for Steven Jobs of Apple Raises Questions - The New York Times || http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/23/business/23liver.html http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/23/business/23liver.html * Steve Jobs' liver transplant: Did he game the system? || http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/human_nature/2011/01/how_did_steve_jobs_get_his_liver.html http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/human_natur...