Americans are resorting to legal, but no less desperate measures, including donating blood for money, ABCs Dan Harris reported on the May 4 World News Tonight before showing a man donating plasma. I come here twice a week to fill my tank once, said the man.
Of course, donating blood or blood plasma can only be done so often in a given year. The American Red Cross [1], for example, only accepts 12 plasma donations from an individual in a given year, and they must be spaced out by at least 48 hours. The Red Cross also requires that donors wait at least 56 days between blood donations [2].
Simply put, while some Americans may be pocketing the extra cash for blood or plasma donations, its not likely a long-term plan for weathering gas price hikes. It is, however, a stunning image which helps sell hype on broadcast news.
The Business & Media Institute [3] follows the medias ongoing coverage of rising gas prices.