EU regulation of blood donation and the importation of blood and blood products

Abstract

The European Union recommends unpaid blood donation because it deems this to be the safest way of collecting blood and the best way of respecting the dignity of the donor as well as certain ethical principles relating to the availability of human-origin products. However, the risk of suffering shortages of blood has led EU law to authorize the importation and consequent circulation across EU territory of blood from countries where the law allows donors to be paid. This paper analyses the inconsistency this represents and mentions the alternative of blood donation becoming a civic duty. This would allow the necessary amounts of blood to be collected in a more consistent way for EU regulation than the situation as it currently stands.