Putting a fee on blood ?

That bunch of incompetent crooks masquerading as the New South Wales government are reportedly considering charging a fee for blood.

The blood bank in this country is run by the Red Cross and hundreds of thousands of citizens are regular donors - rewarded at the end of each session by a cuppa and a few biscuits.

Their blood is available at no cost to the medical profession for those who need it. Without blood the majority of surgery would not be possible.

The government is considering leaving it free for public hospitals, but charging private hospitals. This charge would be cleverly disguised so as to not refer directly to a blood fee, but would instead be called an " administrative charge ".

Whatever name this new " tax " is called, it would be a charge on private hospitals and would either directly go onto patients bills or go against their insurance fund. In either case - it would increase health costs.

It could be the first step on a slippery slope. Donors who support the blood bank could well walk away once they knew that their donation was now being treated as just another source of government revenue.

Our blood bank is a fine and revered institution. Do we want it become like many overseas countries - where people sell their blood for money - and as a result blood is the price of the next heroin hit for addicts - or the means of putting food on the table for the children of the poor ?

Once the political party in office in this state was the defender of the working man and woman.

It has lost it's way. Ben Chifley's famous " Light on the Hill " is in danger of being extinguished because his party is now so concerned with money that it considers it an extravagance !