The normally obscure blood business is booming as various research and medical institutions are in a raced to develop tests, therapies and vaccines which many believe to be the key to successfully easing lockdowns and eradicating the threat of the coronavirus pandemic. 

While the surging demand for survivor blood samples has given a boon to blood brokers, diagnostic companies and research facilities struggle to develop tests and life-saving therapies due to the high prices for blood. 

High Prices

According to executives of diagnostic companies, some brokers reportedly sell a one-milliliter sample of COVID-19 survivor blood for over $1,000. Other companies were quoted several thousands of dollars for one milliliter of the convalescent plasma-the antibody-containing part of the blood from virus survivors. 

A few dozen samples are needed to meet the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's emergency approval requirements. Following dozens of inaccurate tests in the market, the FDA required companies to conduct tests using 30 positive samples and 75 negative samples to obtain approval. 

Blood donated to hospitals and non-profit blood banks are reserved for use in an experimental treatment for COVID-19 patients, forcing research institutions to turn to blood brokers who pay donors for plasma or buy leftovers from laboratories who run a blood test.

Commodity

Survivors of the respiratory illness, which has infected 1,816,820 and killed 105,557 in the United States, have become a commodity. Many non-profit companies who typically pay $50 per donation have bumped up their rates for donors. 

In Utah, two individuals who contracted the virus while aboard a cruise ship received $800 gift cards after donating plasma at Takeda Pharmaceutical's BioLife Plasma Services center. The institution also runs over 800 paid-plasma collection sites across the country to help researchers produce plasma therapies to treat rare and chronic conditions. 

Plasma Therapy

Plasma treatments have been used since 1918 when the Spanish Flu swept across the world, infecting more than 500 million individuals. It was also used in other epidemics including the lesser-known Argentine hemorrhagic fever. 

Researchers in China, Europe, and the United States have begun conducting experimental therapies in COVID-19 patients as part of the study on its effectivity as a treatment option. According to published reports, the transfusion helped conditions improve for many plasma recipients. A Mount Sinai report also claimed the mortality rate in patients who received convalescent plasma lowered by almost half. 

The scientists are also identifying complications that may come from plasma transfusion-including lung injuries and rejection.   

Many medical institutions and tech giants such as Microsoft have a coalition called "The Fight is in Us." The campaign aims to encourage coronavirus survivors in the nation to help with the development of medicine and antibody drugs that could help with a possible new wave of the virus this fall. 

Individuals who have recovered from COVID-19, or know someone who has, can visit The Fight Is In Us website to find out if they are eligible to donate plasma. The website also has a self-screening tool that shows a nearby blood donor center. 

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