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kate_ontherun's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
2.5
Interesting, but repetitive.
b_kelso's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
Working in McAllen,TX when convalescent plasma was being use for the sickest of COVID patients I became aware of the Blood trade. This book does an excellent job of balancing the need of the patient while also pointing to the plight of those donating plasma.
kendalltrettin's review against another edition
3.0
Author Kathleen McLaughlin told of her investigation into the exploitation of the American Blood and Plasma Industry. This book was extremely eye opening, discussing the ways that the industry targets the “working poor” class, especially those in low-income and non-white areas. She told real life stories of people when were willing to “sell a piece of themselves” for some extra cash to get by. The author herself being someone who benefits from the system, needing IVIG treatments for a chronic medical condition. However, the novel did feel quite repetitive at times, which made some parts difficult to get through. But overall, it was a very informative read and helped me to realize what is really going on in the blood industry, something that I may not have even thought of before!
teatales's review against another edition
As a plasma donor myself in a country where I cannot be paid for it, I found this book a largely fascinating tale about how the other half lived. I felt that some of the descriptions of the donating itself were a little melodramatic, and, in a longer book presumably, there could have been more parallels/dialogue with sex work.
writingbookscoffee's review against another edition
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.0
mindfullibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
(free review copy) When I was a sophomore in college, my brother talked me into donating (selling) plasma to make extra money and the experience has stuck with me for the 20+ years since. If you have never had your blood extracted, separated, and then just the red blood cells put back into your body, you can't truly understand the experience ~ but it was unsettling. The feeling of the icy cold blood coming back in, feeling so exhausted afterward that I would be in bed for the entire rest of the day, and finally ~ passing out in my car, ending my time at the plasma center.
I would earn $20 for my first donation in a week and $30 for my second. That $50 was my entire weekly expendable income for a period and that's what Blood Money is about: the major inequality in the United States (one of the few countries that allows payment for plasma) that leads to people being willing to donate way more often than is medically recommended for most. It is about the massive profits being made on the blood from people barely making enough money to live on. I was riveted by this book, not just because of my personal connection, but also because the author herself has a disease that requires her to receive infusions made from the plasma donated at these centers. McLaughlin weaves in her conflicted feelings of being the recipient of such a morally ambiguous industry and this inclusion levels this book up from being a story of the plasma business into a well-rounded and philosophical reporting on an often unrecognized industry. I so appreciate that this isn't a "look at all the poor people" method of reporting, but instead a recognition of the failure of the United States to take care of its people well enough to not require selling bodily fluids to survive.
If you liked [b:Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup|37976541|Bad Blood Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup|John Carreyrou|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1523311515l/37976541._SX50_.jpg|59699437] and just can't get enough of evil capitalists preying on the vulnerable in the medical world, I can't recommend this highly enough, with one caveat: in the early copy I read, it seemed that there was some repetition of information/thoughts, to the point that it stuck out to me. I don't want this to dissuade anyone from reading, but I feel the need to point it out since I'm raving about it.
Source: Edelweiss digital galley
I would earn $20 for my first donation in a week and $30 for my second. That $50 was my entire weekly expendable income for a period and that's what Blood Money is about: the major inequality in the United States (one of the few countries that allows payment for plasma) that leads to people being willing to donate way more often than is medically recommended for most. It is about the massive profits being made on the blood from people barely making enough money to live on. I was riveted by this book, not just because of my personal connection, but also because the author herself has a disease that requires her to receive infusions made from the plasma donated at these centers. McLaughlin weaves in her conflicted feelings of being the recipient of such a morally ambiguous industry and this inclusion levels this book up from being a story of the plasma business into a well-rounded and philosophical reporting on an often unrecognized industry. I so appreciate that this isn't a "look at all the poor people" method of reporting, but instead a recognition of the failure of the United States to take care of its people well enough to not require selling bodily fluids to survive.
If you liked [b:Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup|37976541|Bad Blood Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup|John Carreyrou|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1523311515l/37976541._SX50_.jpg|59699437] and just can't get enough of evil capitalists preying on the vulnerable in the medical world, I can't recommend this highly enough, with one caveat: in the early copy I read, it seemed that there was some repetition of information/thoughts, to the point that it stuck out to me. I don't want this to dissuade anyone from reading, but I feel the need to point it out since I'm raving about it.
Source: Edelweiss digital galley