Blood Veins for Hire: Social Inequality and the Growing Market for Human Blood Plasma

• In Event: 20820 - Section on Medical Sociology Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 7. Medical Markets, Capitalism, and the Organization of Care

Abstract

This study examines how engaging in the for-profit market for human blood plasma in the U.S. is linked to social and economic inequality. As biotechnological innovation in the blood plasma therapeutics sector has advanced, the global demand for human blood plasma has skyrocketed. This has resulted in the growth of the for-profit market for human blood plasma in the U.S., where people can earn hundreds of dollars each month by giving blood plasma. Using mixed methods that incorporate spatial regression analysis to examine the demographic characteristics of US plasma collection sites, and survey and interview analysis to evaluate the factors that motivate donors to engage in paid plasma donation, this study asks: how and why have millions of Americans come to rely on exchanging their blood plasma for money to generate income? This study reveals how growing inequality has turned paid blood plasma donation into a viable economic coping strategy for low to middle-income Americans.

While past studies find for-profit plasma centers to be overrepresented in high poverty areas, this work reveals that the plasma donor population is becoming more heterogeneous than previously understood. Low to middle-income Americans, nearly half of which work full-time, view paid plasma donation as an income-generating strategy akin to a second job. People use the money earned to keep up with bills, which have increased due to inflation and rising living costs. While donors routinely experience a range of health side effects, they continue giving plasma because they need the money. This study extends our understanding of the people that use paid plasma donation as an economic coping strategy, the extent to which macroeconomic factors have made the practice more accessible and palatable for middle-income people, and the extent to which advancements in biotechnology may be contributing to health disparities and social inequality.

Author

• Analidis Ochoa, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor