What inferences can you draw from blood donation systems?

[Plekhanov]

In the UK this is the responsibility of the National Blood Service who as far as I can tell do an excellent job, they do a fair bit of advertising to encourage people to register then once you do you get a letter 3 times a year with addresses and times of local centres where you can donate. Since I’ve moved to the city it’s much easier to give as there’s a fulltime centre open 5 days a week rather than a visiting one in the town hall for a few days every few months.

In the UK the donation system is entirely voluntary with nobody being paid, infact there’s a bit of a taboo about trading in a life saving resource like blood, for example there was a bit of an outcry a while back when it became known that the NBS sold surplus blood overseas. I understand that in some countries (eg. The USA) donors are paid and that this is one of the reasons why so many people got HIV from operations as drug addicts used to sell their blood.

So I’m wondering do people freely give blood where you live, can you get paid for doing so, what is the attitude to trading in blood, bone marrow, eggs, organs and so forth and what do you think this attitude says about your societies morality?

[Civil War Man]

I've donated blood before (had to stop, since it made me lightheaded to the point of passing out), but I've never been paid for my blood. My state (Rhode Island) is different than the rest of the country, though, as, IIRC, it is the only state in the US capable of effectively maintaining its own blood bank (others are simply too big) and not having to rely on the Red Cross.

There are pros and cons to giving out money for donating, as George Carlin would put it, your spare parts. Pro: The money provides an incentive for people to donate, bringing in those who might otherwise not take the time (an appeal to greed). Con: Those strapped for cash donate to take care of money problems (you mentioned drug addicts, but also works for gambling addicts).

[LadyTevar]

There was a Blood Drive held by the Red Cross in our office building today. The State Government regularly invites the RedCross in for such things, and they always go away with more than they planned for, sometimes even turning away would-be donators.

It's all free.

[Broomstick]

I understand that in some countries (eg. The USA) donors are paid and that this is one of the reasons why so many people got HIV from operations as drug addicts used to sell their blood.

Wish to correct this little bit of misinformation.

Although at one time there were, indeed, some blood services that paid donors, those were largely phased out before the 1970's were over, well before HIV became a factor. (The big trigger to phase out paid donors was actually hepatitis) Someone might be paid for blood collected for research purposes, but NOT for blood used to treat other human beings. The only thing you get in the USA for donating blood is free juice and cookies.

Platelet and plasma donors in the USA might be paid - but that's partly because it's a process that takes hours and damn few people would volunteer otherwise. But such donors are even more carefully screened than ordinary blood donors.

In certain instances, an adult recovering from chicken pox, for example, they might be recruited for immune globulin donations because of the antibodies circulating in their blood that are useful to treat others have severe manifestations of the disease in question. But, again, that's rare, out of the ordinary, and these people are very, very carefully screened.

[Molyneux]

Um...when I donate blood, they give us free cookies and juice? And sometimes a sticker or a pin, too.

That's all I've ever been paid for donating blood. I do it for th'shorties...well, short-bread cookies. Mmm...Lorna Doone...

[Exonerate]

The Red Cross come to my school (A high school) every few months as part of their blood drive - usually, a good portion of our students who are eligible (17 and above) do participate, and I believe many of them do donate more than once. We don't get paid in money, but we do get a pretty sticker and water/juice/cookies/chips/etc to aid our recovery.

I'd spectulate that the motivation of most people here is an altruistic one, although the food and and drinks certainly sweeten the deal so to speak. Not to mention it impresses chicks. There's also a bit of peer pressure, not only from other students, but even from teachers to donate blood.

[HemlockGrey]

My high school is the name way as Exonerate's. The Red Cross comes to town a couple of times a year and most of the senior class goes to donate blood so they don't look like selfish assholes.

[Gil Hamilton]

They've never paid me for blood donations before. They do that for plasma and I think platlets, but not whole blood donations.

[Petrosjko]

Echo Broomstick on the topic.

There is a local service that pays for plasma donations, but most people donate freely at the regional blood bank. I generally go in every four months, since they seem to love to plug me into that damned machine that separates out the whole blood cells and returns the plasma, and they always go for two units of cells.

And in return I usually get a couple of small bottles of orange juice and a nifty neon bandage.