More Middle-Class Americans Sell Plasma Amid Financial Pressure
Middle-class donors generated $4.7 billion last year amid rising living costs, relying on plasma sales to cover essentials like rent and medical bills, experts say.
- A surge in middle-class plasma donors was observed on Feb. 12, 2026, at a suburban Philadelphia center, with Americans earning an estimated $4.7 billion last year.
- Amid constrained household budgets, the top 1% of households owning more than 30% of wealth have pushed some middle-class households to sell plasma, including Margo Thompson and families earning about $90K.
- Apheresis machines collect and process plasma in more than 1,200 plasma centers across the United States, which shipped $6.2 billion overseas in 2024, with payments of $45, $65, and at least $400 monthly for donors.
- Some donors report using plasma income for urgent household bills, including Jill Chamberlain who counts on it for this month’s electric bill, Michelle Eagan who covers $700 preschool tuition, and Larry Jones who began after rent rose to $800.
- Regulators and researchers emphasize limited long-term health data as the FDA allows donations twice weekly, BioLife compensates donors for time, and new centers boost local economies with 200,000 daily donors.
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More Middle-Class Americans Sell Plasma Amid Financial Pressure
NEW YORK — (VINnews) – An increasing number of middle-class Americans are selling their blood plasma to help cover everyday expenses, according to a report by NBC News. The report highlights how plasma donation, once more commonly associated with lower-income communities, is now drawing people from a broader economic spectrum, including suburban residents and working […]
Hard-up Americans are selling their blood to cope with the cost of living crisis
Over 200,000 people a day are exchanging their plasma for cash across the country, up 30 percent in four years, according to new research
Middle-class Americans are selling their plasma to make ends meet
Inside a suburban Philadelphia strip mall, between the Hair Cuttery and a Citizens Bank, a dozen people lay on black ergonomic beds a few feet apart, hooked up through a needle in the crook of their arms to machines pumping blood out of their veins. They were there to sell their plasma in exchange for $65 on a prepaid debit card. Ian Pleasant, 43, had come that morning to get some extra money for toilet paper and pet food. “I’m making enough mon…
More than 200,000 people a day attend paid donation centers in the United States, in a market that generated $4.7 billion in 2024.
Over 200,000 Middle-Class Americans Selling Plasma Daily
More middle-class Americans are turning to the plasma industry as a source of extra income, fueling rapid growth in a business that now stretches into suburbs, college towns, and shopping centers nationwide. Across the United States, an estimated 200,000 people a day sell plasma, according to research cited by Georgetown University professor Peter Jaworski. In 2024 alone, Americans sold roughly 62.5 million liters of plasma, generating about $4.…
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