5 ms·

Why kidnap? Why not just offer $20 per pint and sell it for $200?

by jraby3 9y ago

rothron 9y ago
Blood banks stopped paying for blood because it attracted the wrong customers, those strapped for cash rather than the idealistic types. As a result quality suffered. Between hospitals blood is bought and sold at the price you mention. Radiolab had an episode about this some time ago.
- cvsh 9y ago
  >Blood banks stopped paying for blood because it attracted the wrong customers, those strapped for cash rather than the idealistic types. I feel like the market can find a solution for this that's unworkable for blood banks because of regulations, hospital requirements, scale, etc. i.e., force applicants to prescreen their blood and permaban them for lying or if their blood fails drug/illness/etc. checks.
- jessaustin 9y ago
  One doubts that kidnapping will yield a higher "quality". The people who may be kidnapped on a regular basis without inviting unwanted attention are a subset of those who would sell their blood.
- ekianjo 9y ago
  pay for health check tests before drawing the blood, and if tests results are good pay the person for the blood market price. Otherwise they get nothing. It can really work if you put the incentives in the right place.
- HarkMamilton 9y ago
  Sperm banks manage to get very high quality, sanitary sperm despite many people doing it for the cash. The trick is to have recurrent donors you can test regularly, and to quarantine samples until they can be cleared in bulk.
- pmoriarty 9y ago
  Here's the episode: [1] It's really one of their better ones. Highly recommended. [1] - http://www.radiolab.org/story/308403-blood/ http://www.radiolab.org/story/308403-blood/
bognition 9y ago
Don't plasma centers effectively do this? And if we are really thinking about catering to the uber rich just raise both prices by an order of magnitude and you'll have plenty of donors and probably a ton of buyers.
Majestic121 9y ago
I'm going with the sex worker analogy again because I think it works quite well : for a long time in France there were a lot of French prostitutes in the sex market voluntarily, and living decently of it. But for some years, a lot of prostitutes from Eastern Europe got brought by the mafia and drove the prices way down for everyone. As a result, the market is now filled with exploited girls, working conditions are awful(ler ?), and the libertarian El Dorado of 'young women voluntarily selling a service' is dead, replaced by a dystopia of what has basically become selling drugged meat until the meat is dead or not fresh enough to be sold. The meat comparison is unfortunately not that much of an hyperbole, just go for a jogging in Bois de Boulogne and you'll see true human misery. I'm afraid the same kind of scenario is not that much of a stretch for blood. It could even be worse, as a prostitute have to at least be presentable so bad treatment has to be a bit restrained.

Why kidnap? Why not just offer $20 per pint and sell it for $200?

by jraby3 9y ago

Why kidnap? Why not just offer $20 per pint and sell it for $200?

Blood banks stopped paying for blood because it attracted the wrong customers, those strapped for cash rather than the idealistic types. As a result quality suffered. Between hospitals blood is bought and sold at the price you mention. Radiolab had an episode about this some time ago.

cvsh 9y ago
>Blood banks stopped paying for blood because it attracted the wrong customers, those strapped for cash rather than the idealistic types. I feel like the market can find a solution for this that's unworkable for blood banks because of regulations, hospital requirements, scale, etc. i.e., force applicants to prescreen their blood and permaban them for lying or if their blood fails drug/illness/etc. checks.
jessaustin 9y ago
One doubts that kidnapping will yield a higher "quality". The people who may be kidnapped on a regular basis without inviting unwanted attention are a subset of those who would sell their blood.
ekianjo 9y ago
pay for health check tests before drawing the blood, and if tests results are good pay the person for the blood market price. Otherwise they get nothing. It can really work if you put the incentives in the right place.
HarkMamilton 9y ago
Sperm banks manage to get very high quality, sanitary sperm despite many people doing it for the cash. The trick is to have recurrent donors you can test regularly, and to quarantine samples until they can be cleared in bulk.
pmoriarty 9y ago
Here's the episode: [1] It's really one of their better ones. Highly recommended. [1] - http://www.radiolab.org/story/308403-blood/ http://www.radiolab.org/story/308403-blood/

bognition 9y ago

Don't plasma centers effectively do this? And if we are really thinking about catering to the uber rich just raise both prices by an order of magnitude and you'll have plenty of donors and probably a ton of buyers.

Majestic121 9y ago

I'm going with the sex worker analogy again because I think it works quite well : for a long time in France there were a lot of French prostitutes in the sex market voluntarily, and living decently of it. But for some years, a lot of prostitutes from Eastern Europe got brought by the mafia and drove the prices way down for everyone. As a result, the market is now filled with exploited girls, working conditions are awful(ler ?), and the libertarian El Dorado of 'young women voluntarily selling a service' is dead, replaced by a dystopia of what has basically become selling drugged meat until the meat is dead or not fresh enough to be sold. The meat comparison is unfortunately not that much of an hyperbole, just go for a jogging in Bois de Boulogne and you'll see true human misery. I'm afraid the same kind of scenario is not that much of a stretch for blood. It could even be worse, as a prostitute have to at least be presentable so bad treatment has to be a bit restrained.