Blood money

I always have wanted to do a story on what really goes on in the international market for blood and blood products. Specifically, because blood is donated by people, then sold by the American Red Cross to hospitals for what must be a profit, then sold again to patients for an additional profit. Should't the donor who "gave" the aforementioned blood be cut in on the deal?

Well, after a bit of rooting around, the consensus is that paying for blood results in a lower-quality product from people who ... shall we say ... want to turn blood into money, while donated blood comes from a more altruistic and healthier sort of individual. Bottom line: Paying for blood doesn't work.

Hmmmm. I'm not on board with that one just yet.

One thing you can do for consistent income (if tax-free municipal bonds are out of the question) is sell your blood plasma. That's something you can do for money. I quickly found some tips on how to do it. This info comes from a great site called eHow (whose slogan is "Clear Instructions on How to Do (Just About) Everything"), where you can also get tips on how to buy and sell sperm and how to pawn stuff.

Well, I still haven't pierced the international conspiracy in blood trafficking (my apologies to the American Red Cross, who've got enough PR problems of their own), and I can't tell you exactly where to sell your plasma, but we've all had a little fun, haven't we?