And We Thought "Blood For Oil" Was Repugnant...

Iraqis Sell Their Blood To Survive

Iraqis are selling their own blood to people who are buying supplies for relatives in need, due to a shortage, doctors say. This has caused concern over the spread of disease since the supplies are not checked for blood-bourne infections.

Every day hundreds of donors can be seen standing outside the blood bank at the Iraqi National Centre for Blood Donations (INCBD) in the capital, Baghdad.

More people have started to donate blood following shortages and a call from the Health Ministry for increased supplies to cope with increasing violence in the country, resulting in more patients requiring urgent blood transfusions.

However, people in the queue willing to donate for free are being intercepted before they reach the centre. Donors are approached by so called ‘negotiators’ who pay them between US $ 15 - $20 per blood bag. At a time when unemployment stands at 33 percent and most of the country is still dependent on food rations, the sale of blood may be an attractive option for many.

“Every week I come here to sell my blood. It is very easy to get someone to buy it because many families are desperate to help their loved ones who are injured in the hospitals,” Nazaare Ammar from Baghdad said, as he stood in the queue to donate blood.

(hat tip to Shakespeare's Sister for the lead)

See, we really do have it easy in this nation. I mean, take a look at this:

Am I buggin' you yet? If I'm not, is that vulture sitting waiting for that baby to die buggin' you yet?(hat tip to Firestarer5 and Skippy for the photo).

We donate blood to feel good about ourselves, maybe it gives us an "in" with the Lord. These people are starving and it's OUR FUCKING FAULT!

And I'm not letting the left off that easily. We could have, should have, beaten this clown in office that sits there and sneers at us, every so often trotting out his tiny sense of humour for the mainstream media to gawk and marvel at like it's a bunch of coloured lights in front of a drug-addled crowd (listening, Limbaugh?)

Where is our fucking humanity?