If the poorest Americans are selling their blood, the US is in serious trouble

I considered donating plasma during college. $100/donation every month is a solid gig.

The "donation" part isn't as altruistic as most people think. Plasma is often used for pharmaceutical research, and not directly used by emergency patients. In the US, the FDA regulates plasma donation differently than blood donations [0], which is why you get paid for plasma but not for blood donations.

Along the same lane, men who go to highly accredited universities can also get paid for monthly sperm donations. There's high demand for Ivy League genes.

(although, imo nurture is more important than nature when it comes to high achievement in a general sense)

[0] https://www.statnews.com/2016/01/22/paid-plasma-not-blood/