I’m not sure about plasma because I’m not a donor; I only know how much you can make in this area from coworkers who donate twice a week.

Back when I used to donate platelets, I definitely noticed that I wasn’t able to work out as hard and became fatigued more easily for a day or two afterward. I would usually eat a lot of beans and nuts, drink lots of water, and take a multi-vitamin right after my donation to help replenish my lost platelets. It’s likely something similar for blood plasma: lots of water, protein, iron/zinc/copper.

99% of leftist stop infighting right before the movement becomes pure enough!

In my area you can make over $400/month selling your plasma.

Whole blood is not sold for profit, but organizations do charge hospitals a handling fee to cover operational costs… but I just realized as I was typing this that you aren’t talking about the organizations that collect blood, but the hospitals.

I looked up what it generally costs for a one-unit (1pt, ~470ml) blood transfusion, and it’s over $2000! I’d like to think that all the blood and platelet donations I’ve made over the years had saved lives, which objectively they probably did. But now knowing how much hospitals and insurance companies are profiting off of the act of donating makes it feel less like a selfless act of compassion and more like cattle being herded into a milking parlor.

I used to donate platelets every two weeks, but I haven’t gone in a few years. The last time I went was beginning of 2024; at that time they still asked all the same questions.

Core memory unlocked
Oh man, I forgot about the singing!

I remember we were taught several patriotic songs in first and second grades; I distinctly remember “America the Beautiful”, “Battle Hymn of the Republic”, and “My Country, 'Tis of Thee”. Each day the school would choose one of the songs and were forced to sing it immediately after reciting the pledge.

My high school homeroom teacher allowed me to stay quiet during the pledge, but still made me stand up and put my hand over my heart. In 11th grade I moved to a more conservative area of the state, but oddly enough they had more students who opted to stay seated and silent, and the teachers let me do the same.

It was around that time that I started feeling like there was something wrong with all the “America’s so great!” stuff we had been taught since 1st grade. I completely deprogrammed when I had the opportunity to work alongside people from all over the world, learn more about their culture, their family, become friends. I began to see the world differently, and my perspective shifted as I learned more about the consequences of American policies and interventions that they don’t tell you about in the evening news.

So I guess what I’m getting at is that back then, I didn’t say the pledge because part of me was beginning to question the reasons why it was (practically) compulsory. These days, I wouldn’t say it because I cannot in good conscience support imperialism.

I would wager that this is going to become a test case that is intended to appeal it’s way to the SCotUS. The SCotUS has already ruled that many constitutional protections are waived at the border, so it wouldn’t be surprising if that is the intended outcome.

Land of the Free™

These days I also avoid engaging. Not just because I realized that arguing on the internet is a waste of time, but I grew tired of having the same arguments over and over. More people today believe the world is flat than people did back in the middle ages. I honestly believed when I was younger that the internet was going to put the sum of humanity’s knowledge at everyone’s fingertips, making the world overall a smarter, more enlightened place. Instead, the internet is broadly just a bigger soapbox for the brash and self-righteous.

These days, you could spend 30+ minutes writing a thoughtful reply, deliberately avoiding an argumentative tone, only to be accused of using or being an AI.