Money Making Trend: Donating Blood Plasma

 Blood plasma is used to create plasma based medicines.  Apparently, plasma can not be produced in a laboratory nor any artificial environment so certain pharmaceutical drug companies may be dependent on a continuous plasma supply.

So plasma donation centers are set up to pay "healthy" people money for their plasma.  Many people who need extra monthly income may go weekly to give a donation and to collect much needed money to supplement their current income.

 I see a lot of the ads soliciting for donors on the public transit buses and in mass transportation areas.  Many of the plasma donation centers are apparently on a public transportation route so that all people can reach their locations.

From what I have heard, pharmaceutical drug prices continue to go up, but the amounts that these centers pay to each of the blood plasma donors have decreased over the last year or so.

It may be a profitable business model for the plasma donation centers, but it makes me feel as if they are almost "freeloading" off of the poor to probably make significantly more profit for their administration.

Of course, the people who need the extra money are grateful that they can make an honest dollar without selling their souls or hurting someone else, but I can not help but feel that the plasma donors are getting shorted in more than one way.