The Hidden Cost of Survival: Plasma Donation in Hungary’s Rust Belt

In the economically struggling northeast of Hungary, a new and troubling economy has emerged — one built on human blood. For the Roma, Hungary’s most marginalized population, donating plasma has become a grim necessity amid widespread unemployment and deprivation. Plasma centres, concentrated in high-poverty areas like Miskolc and Ózd, operate with little regulation, turning desperate donors into the backbone of a thriving industry.

The plasma donation process extracts the liquid component of blood, returning the rest to the donor. Hungarian law allows donors to give plasma twice a week and caps annual donations at 45, but enforcement is lax. Many donors exploit the lack of a central tracking system by visiting multiple centres weekly, risking their health to earn the equivalent of £15 per session. To attract repeat donors, plasma centres offer incentives like shopping vouchers, bonuses, and lottery entries for prizes such as plasma TVs.

The Roma are disproportionately affected, relying on plasma income to survive. In Tornanádaska, a young man started donating at 16, below the legal age, to help feed his family. In Ózd, another donor described fainting after a session but continued to donate to provide a birthday gift for his daughter.

For many, plasma donation represents survival through sacrifice — a dangerous gamble in a landscape of poverty and neglect.

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