I was wondering if there was some type of place I can donate to that doesnt charge the recipient an arm and a leg for the blood that i willingly give. I dont think that is is right to take something that people give to help save lives and charge people such an amount as the price on it. I am a regular donater, and have been as much as I can every 8 weeks, and it hurts me to know that as much as I donate willingly, the hospital is charging such an amount for it. I come from a very low income family. A couple years ago my mom was undergoing surgery. During the surgury and artery going to her leg was "mistaken" for something else and she lost 6 pints of blood altogather. So she was given blood. Then we got the bill for the transfusion and I was floored. I dont understand why it costs so much for people to get blood, when the blood is given freely.

Thank you for your dedication as a blood donor.

I understand your frustration, but please know that there is no charge for the blood itself.

The charges are related to items such as:

• Viral marker testing
• Donor staff collecting the product
• The product container
• Lab staff who crossmatch the product
• Nursing staff who administer the product

These are the costs of providing safe products to patients.

The charges to the patient are for the testing and services related to the blood products, not for the blood itself.

Different hospitals charge different amounts for the transfusion. A community hospital does not have the high overhead that a large university teaching hospital encounters, so the overall costs are likely to be lower.

We hope that the experience with your mother does not turn you away from donating, blood truly is a precious resource that we rely on donors such as yourself for.

No I will always donate because I love to. I will always donate.. I just wondering. I have loked into this and the testing itself is does not cost as much as what they charge for it. My mother payed like 475 dollars a pint. I dont know. Just expressing my opinion. I am not trying to get people not to donate. I actually will push people to donate.. I donate every 8 weeks. Sometimes i can get in 2 times in a 8 week period . I have such thick blood I feel 100 percent better. I love it.

We also facing such problems,when the Blood donors need blood for their relatives.

We collect the amount as per the guidlines given by NBTC, INDIA and explain the fact

for such amount collected. i.e; Blood Bag cost,TTI testings,salary for staffs, power,

Maintanance of eqpt (AMC) charges.

Thanks.

No I will always donate because I love to. I will always donate.. I just wondering. I have loked into this and the testing itself is does not cost as much as what they charge for it. My mother payed like 475 dollars a pint. I dont know. Just expressing my opinion. I am not trying to get people not to donate. I actually will push people to donate.. I donate every 8 weeks. Sometimes i can get in 2 times in a 8 week period . I have such thick blood I feel 100 percent better. I love it.

The charge for the processing of the blood does not just cover the testing, but the cost of running a blood center as mentioned in an above post. They have to pay for the cost of their building, equipment, utilities, staff, advertising to get donors to come in, etc. Then the hospitals have the same issues, the testing equipment, reagents, staff, etc. Unfortunately, health care as we know is a pricey business.

As a Blood Banker, I thank you from the bottom of all of our hearts for being such a dedicated donor. You're the people we rely on every day to help our patients. Thank you so much.

I am a regular blood donor as well.

Before I joined the BB field, I had the same feeling that patients shouldn't be charged so high in order to get blood, where the patients usually do not have a choice to choose an alternative.

But after I became a med tech in the BB in the lab. I saw for myself why it is so with reasons as explained above.

So if we pay donors $50 per unit of donated blood, most probably the receipients will pay $50 more per unit on top of the current charges...

In the UK we buy blood units from the National Blood Service for approx £ 140 / unit, as others have stated this is the processing costs from running the donor sessions, facilities, storage, equipment maintenance to final testing. Our donors are voluntary, so we don't have the additional donation fee to add to this cost.

Also as most hospitals are part of the National Health Service, compatibility testing for the patient is also free, but if this had to be charged would probably add on another £50/ unit, so ultimately this is not far off what is being charged in the U.S.....so there very good reasons for having our health service run in this way!

Hey JMathis - I applaud your community-mindedness. I have been a regular donor since I started working in blood banking, just never realized the need before that. We need more people in the world like you!!

Just for reference... the most recent data (2007) shows that the US National cost to Collect a unit of blood (not to store, transport, or administer (docuementation, IV equipment, nursing time, etc) ... just to get a unit on the shelf of the collection facility) is $220.

So your mother's charges of $475 are probably not too far out of line.

Most of the blood centers in this country are non profit, and struggling to keep their heads above water.

So, I guess my message is to keep on donating!! Keep on spreading the word!! (Some blood centers calculate the cost to bring a donor in the door at $50 per first time donor - so if you can bring your friends to donate, you can help control the costs!!) As I always say, it's the easiest thing you can do to save a life!! No burning buildings, no risky maneuvering around on-coming trains. Just sitting in a chair and relaxing for a bit, PLUS you get juice and cookies for it.

Thanks for your post!!