[Procyon]

Now I've gotten to thinking: what are the dynamics of blood supply/distribution?

1. You have the American Red Cross maybe trying to pump up the price of their domestic donor blood by restricting imports, declaring European blood to be unsafe.

2. Why is it there's a shortage of blood in the US but a surplus of blood in Europe? Could it be this is not donor-blood but blood from junkies and winos and students? Or is it simply a case of US hospitals finding it cheaper to import (and paying a better price than European consumers for it) and avoiding the Red Cross monopoly pricing?

Anyone?

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I donate to Red Cross but I don't think they have a monopoly. There are community blood banks and more than a few hospitals have their own blood drives.

[virgil]

I would think imported blood from Europe would be more expensive with shipping costs, getting it through customs, the cost of labor in europe. Donations during the summer are typically scarce. There's lots of phsycology involoved with donating blood. There could be many reasons why people are not donating. 9/11, perceptions about the economy, weather, bad Press that the ARC has been getting, fear of needles. It goes on and on.