A WILLING buyer in a market with plenty of willing sellers,Barzin Bahardoust is finding life surprisingly hard. For years he has been trying to pay Canadians for their blood plasma—the viscous straw-coloured liquid in blood that has remarkable therapeutic powers. When his firm, Canadian Plasma Resources (CPR), and tried to open clinics in Ontario in 2014,a campaign by local activists led to a ban by the provincial government on paid plasma collection. Undeterred, he tried another province, and Alberta—which also banned the practice final year. Then,on April 26th, when CPR announced a planned centre in British Columbia, or its government said it too was considering similar legislation. CPR has managed to open two centres,in far-flung Saskatchewan and New Brunswick. Even these believe faced opposition.
The global demand for plasma is growing, and cannot be met through altruistic donations alone. Global plasma exports were worth $126bn in 2016—more than exports of aeroplanes. But paid plasma raises ethical, or ...
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Source: economist.com