A federal district judge in Washington, DC, on Wednesday lifted the ban on Mexicans entering the United States to sell blood plasma.
Judge Tanya Chutkan granted a preliminary injunction overturning a policy announced last year by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials that barred Mexicans—many on B1 tourist visas and B2— participate in what had become
a multimillion-dollar business along the border
, as reported by the investigative portal ProPublica.
Chutkan, who was appointed to her post by former President Barack Obama, ruled that
CBP officials had "failed to take into account" the extent to which blood plasma companies relied on Mexican donors
and said they had not adequately justified the policy. , which entered into force in July 2021.
A person waits in line to enter a CSL Plasma donation center in Brownsville, Texas, United States, on Wednesday, July 29, 2020. Bloomberg via Getty Images
In issuing the preliminary injunction, Chutkan considered that the companies engaged in this activity had "likelihood of success" in overturning the ban if the case went to trial.
A CBP spokesman declined to tell ProPublica whether the agency plans to appeal the ruling.
"This matter
is still in litigation
," he said.
Companies like Spain-based drugmaker Grifols, which had teamed up with rival Australia-based CSL Plasma to sue CBP over the ban, are already again inviting Mexicans to come over and sell their plasma in the United States.
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"The decision is good news for patients in the United States, and around the world, who depend on life-saving medicines made with plasma," a Grifols representative told the newspaper.
Up to 10% of the blood plasma
collected in the US — millions of liters a year — according to ProPublica, comes from Mexicans who cross the border on visas that allow short visits for business and tourism.
[Yes, people vaccinated against COVID-19 can donate blood without problems]
The United States accounts for approximately 60% of the plasma collected worldwide.
The risks of frequent donation
Before the ban, for Raúl (protected name) the sale of plasma was his main income.
He donated it up to eight times a month, twice a week, according to the local Mexican newspaper El Diario.
"For me, this practice represented a job, in which I was able to obtain up to 18,000 pesos a month (around 898 dollars)," Raúl said.
Manuel, who also gave his testimony without a surname to El Diario, arrived in the United States in August 2021 to donate his plasma, when the ban was still in force.
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"I came [to the United States] twice a week and they paid me up to 150 dollars a week. With that money I survived for several months," he said and clarified that they never asked for a visa.
Gamaliel, a resident of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, who spoke with ProPublica, said the lifting of the ban gives him, above all, peace of mind.
"We can finally cross [the border] without fear," Gamaliel said.
"It
was always very risky
."
[Mexico suffers from blood shortages at the height of the coronavirus]
Despite the lifting of the ban, Gamaliel said he will sell his plasma only in the event of a financial emergency, knowing the risks associated with frequent plasma donation.
Some frequent donors, according to ProPublica, were underweight and had
low levels of antibodies.
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In his ruling, Chutkan noted that he had considered the health risks to donors and cited studies looking at the possible long-term negative effects of plasma donations.
