I see nothing wrong with giving away my biological materials, especially when I’m not familiar with any legal means of selling them (and I’m not going to trust my body to the black market). Perhaps there is a way for blood, I’ll have to take a look at that, but I know of no legal means of selling organs — and whether me (or my family, rather) would get compensation or not, I would never remove the “donor” designation from my driver’s license. I feel very strongly about this mainly because my father’s life was greatly improved and extended by a heart transplant.

The main difference is that I don’t consider these actions heroic. Organ donation (after death) especially, as your only passing along some parts you no longer need. Blood donation also can save lives with relatively little effort (the weakness afterward doesn’t tend to bother me too much). To me, it’s not heroism — it’s my social responsibility (which is also why I absolutely refuse to take the free T-shirts that say “I give blood, what do you do.” — I know plenty of people that go through a lot more than that to help other people.)

(Small note: Has nothing at all to do with your argument whatsoever, but I find your use of “give” here interesting. To me “giving”, when referring to biological products, would include “selling” as a subset — especially when you add “in any way, shape, or form”, while giving it for free would be emphasized by “giving away” or “donating”. I’m curious as to where you’re from. Please don’t take this as an insult — I’m not denigrating your usage, I’m a linguistics geek and tend to find such differences interesting.)

Peeople who give blood or any other biological product are some of the dumbest sheep on planet earth. People who want to feel a hero, and that of course, if your being paid in any way, that takes away the nobility. “Here you go, take my blood, sell it instead of me selling it, and keep the money.” That makes no sense, your getting cheated, and ther Red Cross continues to operate it’s little middle man business.

Your a hero either way, giving blood is painful, it takes time, and it weakens you for a short period, making you more susceptible to common colds and the flu. Why should you not be paid, the person you”donated” your blood to is. Duh.

There are four parts to whole blood: platelets, plasma, red blood cells (rbc), and white blood cells (wbc).

In the United States… California specifically (not where I live, just happens to be the most expensive) hospitals are charged a little over $200 US (~1400 yuan) for each unit (450cc) of whole blood, which covers the costs of collecting, testing, transporting, and storing it. Blood is a not-for-profit enterprise here which means patients are charged the same price hospitals pay, sometimes even less.

In the US, you do not get paid to donate, although some hospitals offer up to $35 US (~240 yuan) per pint of plasma for medical testing and manufacturing purposes. (Plasma donation is where they put two needles in you and return the solids back into your body.) If the donor is paid, the blood products may not be used for human transfusions. (This law was enacted in the 1970s, when it was discovered that for some reason paid ‘donors’ (is that possible?) where up to 3 times more likely to carry STDs than unpaid donors.) Sometimes certain companies will partner with the Red Cross to offer incentives like a free scoop of ice cream or something. This both rewards people for donating and drives business for the company.

There are differing requirements as to how often you may donate in the US. Platelets can be collected again after as little as 72 hours, but not more than 24x/year. Plasma can be taken every 48 hours, but not more than 12x/year. White blood cells are generally discarded, and are usually not collected separately while whole blood is once every 56 days.

Regardless of locality, the collection center only takes a drop of blood for immediate testing, which confirms your blood count is high enough to successfully donate. (This is most likely the test skipped by LZ’s doctor, and it is not performed again in the lab so there is no chance for duplication (ie-skipping it because it was already done). While it could have been potentially dangerous for the LZ had his blood count been low, it is not dangerous to recipients of his blood.) Afterwards your blood is subjected to no less than 9 different tests for things like blood type, HIV and Hep C. The FDA is considering mandating an additional test for Chagas disease but that remains undetermined as of now. Your blood may also be used for other experiments unless you specifically deny permission. Finally, a portion of the leukocytes (white blood cells) are removed to reduce the risk of an adverse immune reaction.

All test results are linked to a particular batch of blood through both barcode (computer) and paper (hand written) records. Positive indicators for certain contagious diseases must be reported to the health department and/or military commanders, as required by law. All other results are kept confidential.

Supplies used for collection are always brand new. The packages are opened in front of the patient and then thrown away immediately after it is completed. It takes about ten minutes to draw down a pint of whole blood, about a half an hour for plasma.

After you donate, you are held in a lounge for a few minutes where snacks and sugary drinks are available. Once enough time has passed for any ill effects to have become evident, you’re free to go. If there were no problems, a few days after your first donation they mail you a Donor Card which lists your blood type. If the tests found a problem, they will call you to tell you about it and recommend places for treatment.

And , no, going to the pub straight after doesnt even get u drunk quicker……….

What this thread best shows is the selfish mercenary nature of the chinese. Blood-suckers rather than donors. The NHS makes a tidy profit from the EXCESS of FREE donations it gets and this helps improve its service.

The selfish, miserly, greedy chinese could learn a thing or two about having a civic soceity and building a better country.

I would not trust their competence here, which is a shame as I’m O-.

A skilled, specially trained technician will draw one pint.

http://www.bbh.org/donating/faq.htm