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Thread: food for thought.....

  1. #1
    HB Forum Owner SHATOUSHKA's Avatar
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    plasma donation is advertised pretty heavily
    where i live... moreso than practically any
    other city i've ever been. there is a radio
    commercial that features the voice of a
    (obviously) middle class woman playing with
    her children. the mom is talking about what
    fun her life is and how great it is to be
    able to afford 'special' gifts to herself
    (like spa treatments, pedicures, etc) and
    possibly family vacations thanks to the money
    she receives from her 'donation' of plasma.

    now its no secret that the average healthy
    person donating plasma can receive around
    $200 a month (in 4 easy installments)...
    and over time, you can essentially rack up
    a hefty sum of money -- enough to purchase
    a low-end vacation to disneyworld (which is
    touted in the radio spot).

    but after hearing the commerical a bazillion
    times, it finally occured to me ---

    they pay for plasma... but not for blood.
    a blood donation is charity.

    the removal of plasma is very similar to
    blood and although they return the unused
    blood back into your system, i can't figure
    out why there is money involved with plasma.

    now i admit that i haven't actually taken
    the time to go and google it up... but being
    skeptical, i'm curious as to the reason why
    plasma is worthy of money but blood isn't.

    a thousand and one conspiracy theories rise
    up in my head -- especially the most famous
    one about the many secret medical tests and
    biological weapons made from 'donated' plasma...
    that i just wonder why i can get $200 a month
    with my plasma. hell, its a better bargain
    to 'donate' plasma than to donate blood!!

    i'm being told that my plasma is being used
    to help 'save lives' (though i'm not being
    told HOW).... so i just wonder about it all....


    so yeah... there you have it....

  2. #2
    Inactive Member phucklogginin's Avatar
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    You donate blood to places like the Red Cross where they distribute it for free.

    Plasma is bought by Plasma people and then resold for profit.

  3. #3
    Inactive Member zelazny's Avatar
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    Yup, in the life savin' business here. Hope you can pay for yer plasma mr.

  4. #4
    Inactive Member Beta-Decay's Avatar
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    Haven't you ever watched vampire movies? [img]tongue.gif[/img]


    I've wondered that before too. Donating my blood as a whole, for free to the red cross, or selling it for a nice bit of profit.
    It's possible that maybe the plasma, as plasma is compatible with everyone dispite blood type, whereas blood as a whole, is only compatible with certain types of blood. So having a bunch of plasma simplifies things because it can be used by anyone.

  5. #5
    HB Forum Owner SHATOUSHKA's Avatar
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    Originally posted by phucklogginin:
    You donate blood to places like the Red Cross where they distribute it for free.
    <font size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC, Tahoma">for some reason, i got the visual of the red cross
    tossing out blood bags from the back of a pickup
    similar to the scenes of the peace corps tossing
    out grain bags to the starving africans.

    sadly, i can't say that blood is free... or even
    given out for free. last i checked, you rack up
    a nice bill from the doctor when blood is used.

    i suppose the blood is free, but the service isn't.

    beta you make a good point about the compatability
    issue... which is something i didn't consider.
    it makes some sense and i wonder if that is a
    reason why.

  6. #6
    HB Forum Owner SHATOUSHKA's Avatar
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    on a side note (and separate post), i'd like to
    send my regards to the familiarity......

    it makes me chuckle.

  7. #7
    Inactive Member wildnthewind's Avatar
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    Originally posted by Beta Decay:
    [QB]Haven't you ever watched vampire movies? [img]tongue.gif[/img]
    <font size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC, Tahoma">LOL.. I love most of the old vamp movies...
    .
    .
    .
    Shatzy... Wny not, get a peice of the pie?
    Those are good numbers!

    [img]graemlins/hmmm.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/thinking.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/thinking.gif[/img]

  8. #8
    Inactive Member Beta-Decay's Avatar
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    Mmmm, pie. Thanksgiving is comming up really soon... and most likely I won't be getting any pie.

    Then again, I'm gonna be staying home and spending thanksgiving all alone... How sad. [img]graemlins/cry.gif[/img]

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