2023/08/23

【Jacobin】Plasma Donors Are Being Exploited in America

【雅各賓雜誌】美國的血漿捐贈者正遭到剝削

https://jacobin.com/2023/08/blood-money-book-review-plasma-donation-exploitation-labor

節錄....

The United States is one of five countries where it’s legal to sell your plasma, and roughly 20 million people here do it every year. “Donating” plasma is low-paid labor that has become essential to an exploitative global medical industry.

美國是全球五個允許合法出售血漿的國家之一，每年約有兩千萬人參與。「捐贈」血漿其實是一種低薪勞動，卻已成為剝削性的全球醫療產業的重要一環。

█ A Global Industry 全球產業

The United States is one of five countries in the world where it’s legal to sell your plasma for money. And out of those five countries, the United States has the most generous policy around frequency. Germany allows people to give plasma fifty times per year, with intensive health checkups after every four visits; in the United States, people can donate 104 times, and clinic payments incentivize them to do so as frequently as possible.

美國是全球五個允許出售血漿的國家之一，而在這些國家中，美國的捐漿次數規定最寬鬆。德國允許民眾每年捐漿 50 次，每捐 4 次就需接受嚴格健康檢查；在美國，捐漿次數則高達 104 次，診所還透過支付報酬來鼓勵人們盡可能頻繁捐漿。

In 2005, there were three hundred plasma clinics in the country. Today that number has almost tripled. Knowing these numbers, it’s no surprise that the United States is the largest exporter of human plasma, supplying two-thirds of the world’s supply. In fact, according to Blood Money, blood products accounted for nearly 3 percent of US global exports overall in 2021. Medicine derived from plasma is distributed around the globe and used for research, in surgery, and to treat immune deficiencies, hemophilia, blood disorders, and neurological disorders. McLaughlin is a beneficiary — she has a rare chronic illness that is treated with medicine made from plasma, and sitting for five-hour transfusions every six months gave her lots of time to ponder questions about the origins of her medication.

2005 年，美國全國僅有 300 間血漿診所，如今這個數字幾乎增至三倍。由此可見，美國成為全球最大的人類血漿出口國並不令人意外，供應了全球三分之二的血漿。
事實上，根據《血錢》(Blood Money) 的統計，2021 年血液製品占美國全球出口總額的近 3%。由血漿提煉的藥物被廣泛用於全球的研究、外科手術，以及治療免疫缺陷、血友病、血液疾病和神經疾病。麥克勞克林（McLaughlin）本身就是受惠者之一，她患有一種罕見的慢性疾病，需要靠血漿製成的藥物治療，每六個月接受一次長達五小時的輸注，這讓她有大量時間去思考自己藥物來源的問題。

2024/09/09

【Econlib】America's 9th Largest Export

【美國非營利機構 Liberty Fund 所經營的經濟學資源平台】美國第九大出口品

https://www.econlib.org/americas-9th-largest-export/

節錄....

Why is America richer than almost all other developed economies? In a recent post I pointed to several factors, including regulatory differences. Industries such as fracking are less heavily regulated in the US than in many other developed countries. This also explains why human blood has become one of America’s leading export industries:

為什麼美國比幾乎所有其他已開發經濟體更富有？在我最近的一篇文章中，我提到幾個因素，其中包括監管上的差異。例如，水力壓裂（fracking）等產業在美國的監管就比許多其他已開發國家寬鬆。這也解釋了為什麼「人類血液」成為美國主要的出口產業之一：

Last year American blood-product exports accounted for 1.8% of the country’s total goods exports, up from just 0.5% a decade ago—and were worth $37bn. That makes blood the country’s ninth-largest goods export, ahead of coal and gold. All told, America now supplies 70% or so of the plasma used to make medicine.

去年，美國的血液產品出口佔全國商品出口總額的 1.8%，而十年前僅為 0.5% —— 金額達到 370 億美元。這使得「血液」成為美國 第九大商品出口，甚至超過煤炭和黃金。整體而言，美國目前供應了全球用於製藥的血漿約 70%。

The French government has taken a principled stand against the European blood industry：

法國政府對歐洲血液產業的立場：

In June the European Parliament approved new regulations that allow compensation to be offered for donations, but ban it from being mentioned in advertising and cap payments to an amount proportionate to the value of time spent donating. Whereas Americans can donate 104 times a year, many Europeans are limited to less than 30 times. . . . France lobbied against the European Union’s recent regulatory changes, arguing that they risked making the human body a commodity, as is “already a reality in the United States”.

今年 6 月，歐洲議會批准了新的規範，允許對血液捐贈提供補償，但禁止在廣告中提及，並且將補償金額限制在與捐贈時間價值相稱的水平。相比之下，美國人每年可捐獻 104 次血漿，而許多歐洲國家的上限則不到 30 次。法國反對歐盟這些新的監管變革，理由是這樣的政策可能會讓「人體商品化」，而這在美國「已經成為現實」。

2025/05/30

【Cornell SC Johnson College of Business】The Global Plasma Economy: A Multibillion-Dollar Industry

【康乃爾大學商學院】全球血漿經濟：一個數十億美元的產業

https://business.cornell.edu/article/2025/05/the-global-plasma-economy/

節錄....

Plasma and its derivatives represent a large market; the global value was estimated to be $35.8 billion in 2024, and with an 8.5 percent compound annual growth rate, it is projected to reach almost $80 billion by 2034. Yet the supply of blood and plasma remains highly concentrated; five countries—the United States, Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, and Hungary—provide 80 percent of the world’s supply. These countries permit paid blood donations, creating a significant market. Following FDA recommendations, a plasma donor can donate up to twice a week. The Unites States is the leading exporter of blood-derived products, supplying about 70 percent of the plasma used worldwide. Total blood product exports represented about $37 billion in 2023—more than coal and gold exports.

血漿及其衍生物代表著一個龐大的市場；2024 年全球市值估計為 358 億美元，
以 8.5% 的年均複合成長率計算，預測到 2034 年將接近 800 億美元。
然而，血液與血漿的供應仍高度集中：美國、奧地利、捷克、德國和匈牙利五個國家就提供了全球 80% 的供應量。
這些國家允許有償捐血，因而形成了一個重要市場。
根據美國食品藥物管理局（FDA）的建議，血漿捐贈者每週最多可捐兩次血漿。
美國是血液衍生產品的主要出口國，供應了全球約70% 的血漿。
光是在 2023 年，美國的血液產品出口總額就達 370 億美元，超過煤炭和黃金的出口額。

▼做一下整理.....

★.
全球高達七成血漿，都是來自於美國。美國以全球佔比約4%的人口，卻供應了全球70%的血漿資源。

★.
美國每年約有兩千萬人參與「捐贈」血漿，一種低薪勞動，卻已成為剝削性的全球醫療產業的重要一環。

★.
美國是第一大賣血國，名符其實的世界「血液工廠」

★.
2022年美國排名第10的出口商品是「血漿」，血液佔全美出口總產值的2%，比美國出口農產品黃豆、玉米還要賺錢

★.
2023年「血漿」成為美國 第九大商品出口，金額達到 370 億美元，甚至超過煤炭和黃金。

★.
美國是全球五個允許出售血漿的國家之一，而在這些國家中，美國的捐漿次數規定最寬鬆。
德國允許民眾每年捐漿 50 次，每捐 4 次就需接受嚴格健康檢查。
根據美國食品藥物管理局（FDA）的建議，血漿捐贈者每週最多可捐兩次血漿。
所以美國允許民眾每年捐漿次數則高達 104 次，診所還透過支付報酬來鼓勵人們盡可能頻繁捐漿。
而許多歐洲國家的上限則不到 30 次。

★.
2005年，美國全國僅有 300 間血漿診所，2023年這個數字幾乎增至三倍。
由此可見，美國成為全球最大的人類血漿出口國並不令人意外，供應了全球三分之二的血漿。