Plasma clinics are booming during the economic slowdown, but blood clinics are struggling. Find out where your plasma really goes.

The mainstream media loves to do “sign of the times” pieces during America’s recession. Time and time again we see the same report about the increase of people donating plasma for money as a means of making ends meet. The reports always indicate that both blood and money is given to those who need it most. A misconception that is never clarified is that this plasma does NOT go to hospitals. Plus, with everybody donating to be compensated, volunteer blood clinics that DO provide hospitals with blood are now struggling.

“People think that the plasma they donate goes to the hospitals to save lives and it’s just not the case,” said Lance Bandley, Community Relations Representative of ARUP Blood Services. “If you donate at a plasma center, it cannot be used on a person. It has to go to some other use such as research, medical products or household products like shampoo.”

Blood services like ARUP that provide blood to hospitals do not compensate their donors due to a law passed over 20 years ago. “The FDA changed it so that you could not compensate someone for blood that will be used for another person. The problem that they were having is that people would lie on their forms just to get the money,” said Bandley.

Aside from talking to ARUP, we also went to the Salt Lake City Biomat to get their side of the story. The Biomat’s Public Relations specialist would not allow an interview with any of the workers and referred us to www.donatingplasma.org. The site states:

“Plasma protein therapies help people of all ages fight chronic, often genetic diseases such as hemophilia, primary immunodeficiency, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, and serious, rare, neurological and autoimmune disorders.”

Utah Stories has done many articles on the benefits of donating plasma for money and continues to endorse local plasma clinics. We have not confirmed that plasma is in fact used in shampoo products. Click the video above to watch the investigation.

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