Question

Don't mind the questions in the text.

showed Americ ministe comm waste crati tic 30 11 International until a Tampa paper charged that CASE CASE 14.1 Blood for Sale William H. Shaw and Vincent Barry Sol Levin was a successful stockbroker in Tampa, Plasma International searched worldwide ani Florida, when he recognized the potentially profit with the advice of a qualified team of medical con able market for safe and uncontaminated blood and, sultants, did extensive testing. Eventually they found with some colleagues, founded Plasma Interna that the blood profiles of several rural West African tional. Not everybody is willing to make money by tribes made them ideal prospective donors. Alia selling his or her own blood, and in the beginning negotiations with the local government, Plasma It- Plasma International bought blood from people ternational signed an agreement with several tribal addicted to wine. Although innovative marketing chieftains to purchase blood. increased Plasma International's sales dramati- Business went smoothly and profitably for Plasma cally, several cases of hepatitis were reported in re- cipients. The company then began looking for new sources of blood. Plasma was purchasing blood for as little as fifteen cents a pint and then reselling it to hospitals in the From William H. Shaw and Vincent Barry, Moral Issues in Business, 5th ed. (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1996).

Answer 1

a. The main problem in this case study is that Plasma buys blood from donors for a small amount and sells them to a hospital for a huge amount. This is seen as exploitation of the donors. Also, donors will not be interesting in donating the blood for nothing, if they can get some money for it somewhere else.

b. The important factors that should be considered Economic efficiency, administrative efficiency, price and blood quality. Economic efficiency is when the blood is obtained and distributed in the most efficient way. Administrative efficiency means less paperwork and low administrative overhead costs. The price has to be the optimum price that should be able to attract prospective donors as well as cover the costs. Blood quality should be acceptable, for example, it should not be contaminated.

c. The alternative option is altruism, blood is not bought or sold, but without charge if needed. In such kind of a setup, the donor nor the non-donors obtain a preference over the other.

d. An alternative will be to remunerate the donor in kind. This means implementing a point system, where for each donation the donor gets a certain amount of points. These points can then be accumulated and used to buy services such as treatment plans, surgeries and so on.

Another option would be to have someone to sponsor the blood donation costs. Large multinational companies will be willing to pay for the blood donation costs in order to fulfill their CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). This will relieve the hospitals from the amount that has to be paid to the donor.