o7 Amerikkka
I actually donate about twice a week to help pay bills. I agree with people hearing about the practice of blood for money and saying "that doesn't sound healthy.". I actually feel awful for 24 hours or more post donation.
It's also really cool you don't get saline anymore because the US is out of it. Just a Powerade and goldfish so you don't pass out driving home
Indeed, but it is worth saying that most blood plasma is used to develop drugs needed by people with (in some cases hereditary) diseases who would die without them. It takes something like ~130 plasma donations to produce a one year supply of life saving medication for someone with primary immunodeficiency which effects 1 in 2000 people
Even under communism we would need mass plasma donations to facilitate keeping those people alive and healthy, until we figure out how to manufacture antibodies in a lab without a human based donation. Hopefully it would be done with better consent (not under duress)