Blood Plasma extraction is a multi-billion dollar industry in the US. Americans are the source of a majority of the extracted plasma, with most people selling the blood component to make supplemental income. A new book out this week unpacks the history of plasma and tell the stories of the people supplying what is vital medicine to others.

Kathleen McLaughlin joins us to talk about Blood Money: The Story of Life, Death, and Profit Inside America’s Blood Industry. In the book, Kathleen follows the trail of plasma from China to Rexburg, Idaho to Flint, Michigan to the US-Mexico border.

Kathleen McLaughlin is a is an award-winning journalist who reports and writes about the consequences of economic inequality around the world. Her reporting has been featured in The Washington Post, The Guardian, The New York Times, BuzzFeed, The Atlantic, The Economist, NPR, and more.

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