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you know it's a deal one person's health is traded in exchange for another's. weapon he scares me that this is my only steady income. i don't tell them at the border what you're planning to do or they might arrest you . as long as we're about to sell or blood plasma. the united states exports blood plasma as a raw material one market germany. in the past without plasma would be no medicine for us. too says the u.s. mexican border the world's most committed plasma donors are mexicans going to try and pfizer to stop tonight in past my. european and globe. well pharmaceutical

companies are conducting transactions bordering on the illegal. or strongly encourage people to not use their document for that the passerby. this is a film about people who save lives and about the risks that they are exposed to. have you seen. for all. to. see. here and his daughter him missis are on their way to the border from see it out why it is in mexico to el paso in the united states. with us come on you know it's a normal day but today i'm feeling even worse than usual donating plasma wears me

out i'm tired all the time and i barely manage to lift even light things at the office because my it out. on a limb is indoors or at least a little i'm not proud of being a donor go but. what we do whatever it takes to make ends meet as clear as i have been dishonest as i did for the 2 i must. tell my hero and his daughter go there twice a week in spite of physical warning signs pharmaceutical companies lure them to the united states by offering dollars they accept donors with a visitor visa. but kinesis can feel that there's something wrong to let the cat or some border officials don't let you through where they take away your visa when you say you're going to donate plasma at the q can i see if that makes me panic and it's very risky it's. it's going to be as it was. going to go on i.

think. it's a trade at the borders of law and health but the father and his daughter are not the only ones our research shows that every week at least $10000.00 mexicans travel to the united states to sell their plasma. after donating they return to mexico. they leave their advantages in the u.s. to avoid attracting attention from border officials. and what if i use the money to pay for university. and transport to travel expenses counseling to go to university tuition fees. they're just tired but my pension is very small and i still donate passement because it helps me get by we got them here. donors need the

money patients need the medicines made from donors blood. patients like looks at the opposite end of the supply chain some 1000 kilometers away every 3 days he undergoes the same procedure the infusion of plasma proteins takes several hours for her mom i mean for i got infections all the time i was my life consisted of restrictions and sacrifices. or maybe when i started taking the medicine i got better i could live my life again and enjoyed the image had been mentally. this change was only possible after looks was diagnosed with immunodeficiency he doesn't have enough antibodies to give his body what it lacks he gets the infusions from god's field mention i get antibodies from a lot of people. on when i take the medicine these antibodies help boost my immune system and make me feel better i think i'm going but that's the best ok. it's not

just patients with immune deficiencies who need these medicines doctors use them during operations for example to compensate for severe blood loss the medicines are also used to prevent hepatitis or rabies infections. it's good in some situations we depend on plasma products to save patients' lives is but we include each of us might need a plasma product at some point in our lives the probability is almost 100 percent olds can do to get in. europe can't find enough donors the united states on the other hand can the u.s. is the world's largest supplier of blood plasma there are more than 800 donation centers in the country donors are allowed to give plasma up to $104.00 times a year that's almost twice as often as a lot in germany. the u.s. exports the commodity worldwide europe is the main consumer having used 18800000

liters in 2017 the medicines are then sold worldwide. in germany alone 6000000 liters of us plasma were made into medicine this last year. the 43 donation centers of the us mexican border are the most productive in america they're mainly owned by the australian based company c.s.l. which has a german subsidiary c.s.l. bearing a spanish company grief and smaller entities such as be pealed which supplies the u.k. with plasma. but the company is currently building 2 new centers. all of these companies declined requests for interviews. but during our yearlong investigation we spoke to dozens of former and current employees from phlebotomists right up to managers some let us record their interviews or allowed us to quote them. the c.s.l. senators that are right on the border i would like to say i'm pretty confident

saying 100 percent but let's say 99 percent of the donors cross from mexico. city government that means more these companies set right next to the border because they know the locals need money they take advantage of that this is a cool. from. donors are paid and eligible for extra bonuses the companies use flyers radio spots and videos on social media to target their market of the month you can recruit as many friends for donations as you like the more frenzy recruit the more money you can earn donating plasma is an easy way to earn up to $100.00 a month as a new dollar while saving lives. returning donors also see monthly bonus payouts and i get more points. only donors who give it the maximum frequency allowed by u.s. regulators receive the full payment from mexican donors it's the equivalent of a small fortune but the payment is never referred to as such. big to me when i 1st

started on the street was that we accept donations of plasma and we compensate people based on their time here because if we said that we bought it from the individual it's a form of prostitution it made me. how much of a grey area are we operating and we can even we're giving you money for. only grief provided us with a written response it says donors receive compensation for their time and their commitment as returning donors. for the company's business at the border pays off we gained access to internal documents from great falls that show that a center in the united states gets an average of $164.00 donations per day. at the centers at the border more than double the amount the most successful center in el paso registers more than $600.00 a day and this is the record breaking center run by

a group feels most of the donors are mexicans but despite the large number of donors there's no public awareness about the blood plasma business at the border. we asked officials in mexico city the response was surprise the country band paid plasma donation in 1987 and all associated advertising. corner is the national council for self regulation and advertising ethics you know a live that is in mexico it's illegal to sell one's blood no one is allowed to advertise a product that they're not allowed to sell us. this morning on the outskirts of ciudad water is a city ravaged by mexico's drug war 44 year old guy you know runs a gym here he needs to earn enough to provide for himself and his youngest daughter

. there are a lot more look as i always donate on wednesdays and on fridays or you have the 11th today i'm going to donate with him he says. so they pay right away so yeah we get paid for every donation so they give you a debit card and then you go to an a.t.m. with it. they transfer money to the card to them and yes when you're finished donating the money is on your card. the company's call it the compensation it amounts to 4 times what gummer yearns for his gym. the woman filling the other kid my little girl needs food toys fruit. thanks to the plasma i can pay for all these things. yeah you know. the model no a lot of those 1000 us dollars are worth a lot here most everyone at the end of the day you're doing a good deed saving lives but what if you want to be this. good to

your. a few kilometers away 21 year old here this is using the plasma money to pay her tuition fees ok i'm studying to become a paramedic my job will be to look after patients on their way to the hospital to. get us but i want something better i want to earn good money so that i can stop going to el paso. maybe to go shopping instead of going to this place now i'm a patient myself in the future i will take care of patients. as a trainer earns $100.00 a month but cost of living statistics show a $150.00 are needed per person per month to cover the bare necessities to secure an extra bonus tries to win over his client says donors as well. it's very

interesting very tempting. there. the reason i'm hesitant is the question what are the side effects what is that if it doesn't. plasma is a blood component. the yellow liquid only becomes visible when separated from the rest of the blood it contains valuable proteins immunoglobulins for example which protect against infections the plasma donation is different from a blood donation plasma is filtered from the blood and the other blood components are returned to the donor. plus the earth and the plasma as extract would. provide it to the plasma company and made into medicines to come in one. meter sold in pharmacies which is where i pick them up orders without. the practice of paying donors is legal in germany but compensation sums of up to $25.00 euros are comparatively small. giving plasma isn't

a problem as long as the donor undergoes a federal health check. standards in the united states in germany differ greatly. since this was to close most game principle plasma donations in the us are also regulated and supervised by the author orators of all but tests of plasma protein levels are undertaken far less frequently than in germany and germany had stomach head of every 5th donation in the us it started every 4 months. within 4 months the donor might have donated plasma up to $34.00 times without a single check on their level of critical plasma protein or the good. you know. this can lead to deficiency symptoms in us dollars says professor. he conducted one of the few studies on the effects of long term plasma donation. that owner doesn't notice this decline in his protein levels what amounts to a tricky thing the lower the immunoglobulin g.

level the higher the risk of illnesses like pneumonia meningitis or urinary tract infections. you know it and soon going to be it's infected and you can die from that so it's fiction because these are very serious have. in the us less frequent health checks translate into a higher risk for donors in dortch long under german law every past month donation has to be coupled with a donor risk and health assessment which i don't. forget. another regulation that doesn't exist in the united states instead of the mandatory presence of a doctor physicians only need to be on call 9 of them have on site doctors and depending on the owner that you work at. your doctor my calm once a week for 4 hours which is the minimum that they're required to. many donors in the us have been giving plasma for decades with no adverse side effects.

others suffer immediate symptoms. but continue donating anyway. some of my arms and legs go numb and i'm going to let my vision turns black is if i'm about to faint i get migraines and that's usually how i feel about this all of us have. that one sometimes staffel than tast if you're still reacting but that's all they don't really pay a lot of attention to the people donating because. the amount they give me a rat may well be nothing more. to some seem is him talking i feel like a guinea pig and like livestock but i enjoy them i'm more like

a commodity when i'm in a patient or a donor they're in. chaos and don't want to. proposal is more about numbers and i would compare it like a factory tape study. although the majority of the people i work at telecoms aren't malicious and they don't home with knowledge and they know that if this donor didn't state specifically that they passed out and we just say oh she just had her eyes closed and that they would have to look into it it's not just. p.p.t.a. is the trade organization that represents plasma producing pharmaceutical companies is former president john bull is visiting labs at the u.s. mexican border. i have nothing but good words to say about the sensors that i have seen on the border some just. dealing

with mexican. many mexicans cross the border on a temporary b. one b. 2 visa it allows for visits to the united states provided applicants supply the necessary documentation. one of the requirements is people do need to establish the fact that they have a reason to return to mexico that they have a home or a life something like that there that they're not just using it to come into their country and add to the u.s. population and in a legal manner. under the trump administration border officers are focused on catching those entering the country illegally. but they usually try to slip in beneath the border bridges. the placement owners arrive the official way holders of a valid visa are issued a border crossing card and are allowed to pass through.

in order for a mexican donor to cross the border they need to have a u.s. visa yes fisa is supplied by the u.s. . government on a couple of conditions for that and they go and then donate to pleasure. with this fisa mexican's register at the u.s. donation centers upon entering the country there checked by u.s. customs and border protection officers. people using a b. one b. to be said to cross the border and earn money selling plans where they could put that document at risk. and why is that. because the b. one b. 2 visa is not a document that allows someone to work or live in the united states simply a document that allows them to enter for other reasons so the patent and to say it's not right it's a cop and they said. for it i want to for instance i think i'm on the left. but it's your business. you know people are being compensated they're being paid.

i each week thousands of dollars are paid by these centers apparently nobody has ever asked whether it's legal for mexican donors to be paid in the u.s. . the p.p.t.a. says plasma donors are not employees of donation centers. the u.s. state department issues their visa and confirms. generally an exchange of goods or services for remuneration in the united states is found to be inconsistent with permissible activities on the b. one b. 2 visa. technically under the trump administration there are strict rules for entering the country but plasma donors have been managing to get through for years the p.r. declined our request for a response c.s.l. in greece falls wrote c.s.l. plasma complies with all laws in the countries in which we operate. all donors regardless of where they come from must comply with all necessary health

regulatory and legal requirements to donate there are no exceptions. some employees of donation centers offer precautionary advice. i told them at the border don't say you're coming to donate or you might lose your visa. i do know for you that we. all just don't hope you're coming to going tone or coming to your aunt's house coincidence or you're going for whatever reason to the mall. it's the donors who carry the risk though they're largely unaware of the possible consequences. others. don't want in the uk and mostly my understanding is that it isn't illegals you see but if you fall into the hands of an ill tempered officer they can take away your visa because if they like it was so you better not say you were crossing the border. but i can always go with a simple level. legal code i always tell them i'm visiting my aunt who lives in the

city center. one of you carrying anything out of the water bottle in my id. what do you do for a living get over the work of a jim and an assembly plant. worker and take your. success. yes. w.-o. has been crossing for 9 years kinesis for 3 most of the blood plasma donated in the us is exported to europe the us and europe are the biggest global markets for plasma medicines. paul stringer is the head of an association of plasma producers that advocates unpaid donations unlike the p.p.t.a. we should be very happy that in the united states so much class most collected because we need to plan for the patients who are in need for the products however if you are becoming very dependent on one country and there is

a monopoly there you see that the balance is not ok. leo test is one of several plasma processing companies in germany it makes medicine out of frozen blood plasma . in nearby marburg c.s.l. bearing process is blood plasma including from supplies harvested in the u.s. revenue in germany amounts to 2000000000 euros. the firm refills distributes the medicines in germany with sales of some 280000000 euros it also operates the commercial blood donation chain hamma. demand for blood plasma is growing more and more donations centers are opening in the united states in germany the number of donations has been stagnant for years. many european countries now rely on us plasma germany is on course to such dependency experts are concerned. when there is an disaster in the past for supply united states for example because

a new budget is being direct access which cannot be inactivated then the whole passed by industry will collapse and europe will be. absolutely the victim of that situation. 2 hours later each donor earned $40.00 today in return for $800.00 milliliters almost a leader of blood plasma. donors are weighed before every donation in the balance anyway i weighed one pound too little and the minimum wage is $52.00 los i tried to make myself heavier with my backpack but it wasn't enough. and i see him the more or less i'm so mad i didn't even have my health to sell today and i think. it's for the business with all the bills although it's like suddenly being unable to go to work and losing your source of income. so this was

real good to know i'm trading my health for money others apparently need the help of us donors more that's all right but what price are we paying. in fact it would be easy to protect owners even beyond national borders the german city of gurlitz on the polish border offers a case in point crossing one of the border bridges on foot takes just a few minutes on the german side there's a plasma center run by the same company that dominates the collection market at the u.s. mexican border grief holds the owner of germany's him a donation centers. plasma donor tourism exists here as well.

donors are paid 22 year as compensation. because one of them said she got over coffee this morning i told my wife i'm heading over to gurlitz to donate prize for the final run a few errands here in town pick up some things in the drugstore. the kids are taking it here donating plasma isn't a matter of survival it's a way to earn a little extra income in your book if you go with some donors you can tell they come here a lot. of them they're not earning their livelihood here but it is a small cash boost. wife and sasha can also. after 4 visits donors are examined to determine whether they have enough antibodies to give plasma a 5th time. in the u.s. there's a greater willingness to take risks both on the part of pharmaceutical companies because the law lets them and on the part of donors because they are poor. i would say. a large number of them are probably have some kind of condition or

something. they're maybe just not telling you about. donors often don't mention preexisting conditions they also receive little information about the possible long term effects of giving plasma. this willingness to take risks is based on ignorance and it begins with center employees. at the company actually education bureau about the long term how real they really don't even me as an employee they don't tell you hey this is what might potentially happen with any of your donors whether good or bad. the pharmaceutical companies declined to comment on specific allegations. to donna does not know what the long short term or long term side effects are you i have a responsibility in medicine and this medicine will act in order to to be ethical

in that regard. kinesis in gumma yale want to know if donating is affecting their health since the donation centers won't tell them we arrange a medical checkup based on the studies conducted by professor. the check up at the libertarian ciudad juarez is far more detailed than those carried out in u.s. donation centers. there a fast test determines the amount of protein in the blood there isn't even a minimum value for the antibodies. you know we're both allowed to donate this week . because. i feel fine i've always felt healthy since i started donating.

and i can feel that i'm not in a good state of health i think they're going to confirm that. i'm well i just hope that i don't have an advanced condition we cook is nothing more. that be enough. on its own that was. the lowest. you ever felt bad and i think pain in your chest trembling lips stiffness in your hands or legs must be a mess so yeah that happens about twice a month on twice a month. so you know i also keep coming down with the flu i'm always having to take something how often approximately. the last time was a month ago. and it's coming back now. i mean it's

just. outrageous 4.7 kilos. $48.00 kilos it's. sometimes i don't see myself the way i am sometimes i think i'm too thin. other times i think i'm too fat. it was dark and i like putting on clothes like these i love them i like seeing them

and touching them to me was funny doesn't hurt anybody and it feels very healthy to me. and it distracts me. waiting for the results. i. think that the welcome back i have to pay my college exam fees soon to how much is it. they think it's $140.00 that's expensive. my brother fell victim to organized crime he was executed. according to the autopsy he was tortured 1st and then buried in the yard of some house after he was 28 years

old. so i'd rather see him if he was done a plasma than sell her body or smuggle drugs into the united states. is a bit less risky. because your results. if you look at. it as your immunoglobulin level which we can see here is about $200.00 milligrams below the limit and. if i get sick so often. yes you probably know i'm the norm by a lot of these your turtle protein level is a bit too low as well this is definitely a consequence of your frequent plasma donations and that you are alone and

a modified want to. eat. these are your results look at your immunoglobulin g. level is also below that limit just slightly. and when one of them up. and says my advice to you as a doctor is to stop donating for at least 6 months and the last month i managed. they say it's very unlikely that you will recover if you carry on donating at this rate interest as he could face more serious consequences with increasingly serious infections bronchitis for example or new monia because your body's defenses are too weak. even it doesn't go in when you are in better health but i still recommend you reduce the frequency of your donations you currently did 8 times per month i would recommend a maximum of 5. stars

or whatever on the one hand i'm relieved that i'm not sick. on the other hand it appears i'm pretty vulnerable. to the future so i'm worried. about your health but that's ok because if. we had it to stop donating would be a luxury i can't afford. in the middle. i just feel it's very important that everything is ethically sound. that there are no shortcomings and people are not treated in ways that hurt them. so it. when we show him our footage from the us mexican border the 59 year old can

hardly believe it. doesn't fit well now this is of course totally unacceptable and shouldn't be allowed to happen. with the mouth donors really should be taken better care of these are for this woman sake and for the sake of others who don't i wish i would wish to see a different ethical approach one that's more humane a mensch. the father and daughter are not isolated cases studies have shown huge differences between american and european donors. spend on a considerable number of u.s. donors who we started also fell below the threshold values that apply in germany. we discovered that if you pull the plasma off the different groups that's the argy level in the paid to donation group from the u.s. it was much lower and we can only find as a reason that the frequency of the nation was playing

a role here. different standards apply in the u.s. and they can carry a heightened risk to donors health that's something that could be of concern to german officials who inspect donor centers in the u.s. officials in the state of hessen for example from the darmstadt regional council. they inspect all centers that export plasma to has and. german medical association guidelines are not applicable to inspections in the u.s. . german standards are not relevant here the polar bear lake institute also monitors u.s. donation centers by order of the federal ministry of health in all the cases where the plasma is destined for the german or european market. the name for we make on site visits we look at how donors that treated and selected we look at the quality of traceability systems the relevant e.u.

regulations. these are all important aspects that are inspected on site. but german inspectors aren't interested in the protection of donors but rather for the protection of recipients things not relevant to recipients are not subject to review in all other cases german officials refer to us jurisdiction heinousness results have given her a clear picture we show them to the paul ehrlich institute. in our view in the case of the female donor the results do not comply with the threshold values which means her donations would not be purchased or exempt and. in germany canada says would not have been allowed to donate but that doesn't stop her plasma from entering the german market this creates a double standard one that benefits the pharmaceutical companies the p.p.t.a. maintains that american laws are being observed and says donors do not even give plasma that frequently. in the united states legally you're allowed

to donate twice a week which theoretically could mean that i don't equate to an 800 times a year away for when we look at or ever change and we see every stone about 17 times a year. but there are big differences between the national average and the centers at the border we've received an internal grief document that shows the majority of high frequency donors go to centers at the border. in you susan. donate about $100.00 times a year. it's been 3 days since they got their test results. it doesn't look. like after what the doctor said i'll try to stop donating as soon as possible. i'm still healthy and i want things to stay that way. but i'm extremely worried about you about how it's damaging you. to the.

principle i don't think you should continue donating. must think it was you this is the same with her that i can't stop it's my only source of income. you have so much you're young you're strong you're smart how are you doing. i'm fine. your results tell a different story. no used to have nothing to eat now you're lecturing me about my health. that's not what this is about stop exaggerating you're not the victim here . to impress and there's always a solution ok. ok. you better not say any more. if plasma the plasma business is not the most honest one if they should tell the

donors what could happen to them and not going to follow you know they should take better care of us their ideas their. lives. brussels february 2019. the european union weighs in on the blocks dependence on plasma from the u.s. . a group of delegates urges the commission to take action. well we import about 40 percent from the united states why because we do not have enough . material here to work on so what we need is more. classical nation. but the problem in europe is that there are neither enough centers nor donors and the donors who do come don't come often enough. shrewish my pants i've just finished and i wish people would donate more so the conditions would improve. as one if conditions there were adjusted and raised to match those in europe and

there was a unified standard then donors over there would feel that they were valued. can brussels do anything to protect donors. the e.u. sets the rules for plasma imports the laws are being reviewed says the german health ministry without being more specific. aligning standards is a topic that might be discussed. insiders would welcome such discussions in the us too. i think we can expect to milk our donors for as much part of the movie can get out of them and then not talk about any potential negative effects of they may have. but no one feels like it's their responsibility to initiate this conversation much less raise ethical concerns. this is it's not subject to a regulator we control the ethical approach some to speak of.

insist on the it but when i dress up in costumes i like the way i look when. you see that i feel good movie and of. course or know of your it's not a morally correct business. going to say obama's long as there's a buyer there's a seller. we're just trading our health for dollars. now you have no choice.

greenland is melting in the buying craze has already begun the melting of the ice sheet in the country has exposed the land of china in the us their new companies are being sent out of. town is this consequence of climate change. and offer to take. some. 90 minutes on d w. one

to see what's going on and all of the food emerges that you know what you have to do to fight it. the sharp microscope that have been invented now there would come better and better and better over the years we will end the bad fall for example all of the firewood infection come about in molecular detail and therefore it will also be possible the fight is much more easily by work to speculate about what's going on than 2050 i can't imagine that it will add to that the cause of count much better and then to do with the number of cancer cases there is the opportunity to live a much more fulfilling life because many of the season shortcomings called the soap aging and the college direct that the large degree yet because they held for a long a period of life. this

is deja vu news live from berlin the number of cases of the coronavirus in china increases again the world health organization says all countries now need to be alert to specialists how this virus compares with sars and a bold and how dangerous it might be top also coming up. why democrats in the u.s. are doing all they can to have former national security adviser john bolton called as a witness at present. also on the show.