But of course! You have NO IDEA the work and resources that go
into preparing a bag of blood and/or blood products for use!
After collecting the bags of blood, it has to be processed.
Depending on the blood bank's stock and level of need, the blood
will either be processed into bags of Whole Blood or blood products
like platelets, plasma, etc.
Different types of blood products have different storage / usage
protocol. They have to be stored at a stipulated temperature in
cold storage. When needed, special thawing / warming methods have
to be used. And for certain blood products, special drip sets have
to be utilised too.
There's equipment, trained personnel, time, energy, storage
facilities, processing facilities, etc involved every step of the
way. Before a blood donation drive, there's the rental of space
area for the drive, transporting of personnel and medical equipment
to and from the place, the ads in the newspapers and TV, the
posters, wages, etc.
Adopt a macro view, and you'll start to realise why there's a
charge for that pint of precious blood.
