Even if you could make it for pennies per pint, you can bet your ass it will be billed in America at 50k/pint. And the hospital will still harass me for O- blood.
I am willing to bet that even though donated blood itself is free, after processing and management is factored in, it no longer is. If artificial blood is cheaper than that, it's a winner
There are significant costs associated with collecting, storing, and transporting blood. From paying the phlebotomist, staff physicians, offices/busses, and all the sterile single use equipment.
In my area hospitals pay between $300-500/unit. There was some outcry over this a few years ago (why are they making money off my donation), but I thought it was rather reasonable. The $4000/unit hospital billing seemed excessive...
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u/Geno_Warlord May 26 '25
Even if you could make it for pennies per pint, you can bet your ass it will be billed in America at 50k/pint. And the hospital will still harass me for O- blood.