I read a thread similar to the above on r/Canadaleft. In Canada, blood donations are not compensated (beyond cookies and juice), and are collected by a single government agency. Healthcare in Canada is free at the point of service, so people who need blood or plasma get it at no cost.
To me this seems like a good idea, I don't want there to be a price on body products. It seems bad to be that blood, or kidneys, or any human organ could be sold or bought.
On the other hand, isn't giving blood or plasma a form of labor? Should a system rely on charity to function?
Plasma is bought/sold in the United States, often sourced from the poor. But organs cannot be bought. In some countries organs can be bought.
Many western countries ( Canada included) buy plasma from the United States, because domestic donation rates are too low. So the high horse isn't even really that high.
Can a smarter leftist provide some insight?
The number of collection centers in the United States has more than doubled since 2005 and blood now makes up well over 2 percent of total U.S. exports by value. To put that in perspective, Americans’ blood is now worth more than all exported corn or soy products that cover vast areas of the country’s heartland. The U.S. supplies fully 70 percent of the world’s plasma, mainly because most other countries have banned the practice on ethical and medical grounds. Exports increased by over 13 percent, to $28.6 billion, between 2016 and 2017, and the plasma market is projected to “grow radiantly,” according to one industry report. The majority goes to wealthy European countries; Germany, for example, buys 15 percent of all U.S. blood exports. China and Japan are also key customers.Harvesting the Blood of America’s Poor: The Latest Stage of Capitalism