- your blood contains your DNA, so you not only give out something to help others, you also give out your biological finger-print
- insurance companies might use lab results + identifying info to deny insurance
- your blood contains information on your heritage
And I'm sure there are many more examples like that.
Maybe I'm over-sensitive to data collected for no particular purpose but NL has a pretty bad record when it comes to this sort of thing and in fact people have died because of the innocent collection of something as mundane as religious affiliation.
All reasonable concerns, but your identity is connected to blood donations anyway in many places anyway, not least because of disease management as discussed above. If any bad actors in the scenarios you describe want access to your DNA and you are int he habit of donating blood, it's trivially easy for them to get it anyway. In the US you have to give your name, show ID, and give your SSN to donate blood (at least to he Red Cross), so any idea you had of anonymity is already long gone. I don't feel like researching it on a country-by-country basis right now but I don't think that IDing yourself is exceptional.
The only new thing I'm seeing here is that you get a text message when your donation is used, and it's in that context I'm saying it's a good thing. I can't donate blood in the US (have spent too much of my life in Europe, so it's possible my blood is too socialist) but I wouldn't have had any expectation of privacy if I did so beyond normal confidentiality laws.
> your blood contains your DNA, so you not only give out something to help others, you also give out your biological finger-print
Anyone who wants your DNA is going to have an easier time stealing it from your coffee cup in the garbage than a blood bank.
> insurance companies might use lab results + identifying info to deny insurance
Insurance companies in the US are no longer allowed to deny coverage for preexisting conditions under the ACA, and are already generally entitled to review your lab results as part of your contract with them.
> your blood contains information on your heritage
- your blood contains your DNA, so you not only give out something to help others, you also give out your biological finger-print
- insurance companies might use lab results + identifying info to deny insurance
- your blood contains information on your heritage
And I'm sure there are many more examples like that.
Maybe I'm over-sensitive to data collected for no particular purpose but NL has a pretty bad record when it comes to this sort of thing and in fact people have died because of the innocent collection of something as mundane as religious affiliation.