Harvesting the Blood of America’s Poor: Big Pharma's Blood Plasma Business | Documentary
Why is blood worth more than oil? For impoverished Americans, blood donations have become a source of income - presenting a real risk to their health, as they lie about their health conditions and donate repeatedly to make ends meet.
Plasma, a component of blood that is highly sought-after, now costs more liter per liter than petrol. Used by pharmaceutical companies to create expensive medications, this precious liquid has become a lucrative commodity.
The film investigates one of the largest corporations in this flourishing market, with profits soaring over a billion euros. Their donation centers are mostly found in poor neighborhoods in the U.S., and they pay donors for their blood, a practice forbidden in Europe.
Other donors give their blood in the hope of helping others- but the reality of where their donations actually go can be somewhat different. We investigate the global trade in blood and plasma donations.
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