US EditionMore 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.
14 Articles
14 Articles
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 […]
The Independent
The Independent (US)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
NBC Dallas-Fort Worth
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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