Educational Media Reviews Online

While blood and plasma donations are widely perceived as noble endeavors, this relentless work investigates the industries involved behind the public persona. Plasma is more expensive than oil per unit, and healthcare and pharmaceutical companies in France, Germany, and the United States have been quick to capitalize on this. Most donated whole blood and plasma are sold to private companies, leading them to oxymoronically pay donors. As the filmmakers trace blood and plasma from patient to donor, they learn that European healthcare firms are affecting prices and seemingly moving toward monopolization by importing US blood and plasma. This donated plasma often comes from poor, urban areas. Through investigation and interviews, the filmmakers learned that the plasma companies are alarmingly lax when screening donors for drug use and infections. Further, the film makes a grim demonstration of the financial dependence many poor have on their frequent plasma donation.

There have been ethical questions about the blood industry’s sellingof what was being donated for decades. These accusations were dismissed, however, as the blood collection agencies had operating costs to cover. This film bravely points out that blood and plasma are no longer donated in the true sense of the word, but the term is still being used to put a shine on the process.

Although the filmmakers frequently spend portions of the film showing that the plasma companies would not cooperate with their investigation, this work stands as a lean and biting exposé of the blood and plasma industries. It proffers pointed and ponderous ethical questions throughout, and challenges the use of the simple word, “donate.”