Where does our blood go?

[rekstout]

I heard on the news and in the paper that we have been relying on US supplied blood plasma because we cannot use our own, owing to the the CJD risk.

So why can we use whole blood when plasma is just whole blood where the platelets are removed by centrifuge? Surely whole blood poses even more risk?

If we are not using UK source blood stocks at all the what on earth has happened to the innumerable pints of blood donated in the UK every year - do we sell it on? Stockpile it? Turn it into black pudding?

[WendyW]

Plasma poses more of a risk because many blood donations are used in this process. Whole blood comes from one donor plasma from many .... so the chances of infection are far greater.