Plasma donations to resume
People in the county will be able to donate blood plasma for medicines for the first time in more than 20 years.
The plasma will be fractionated and used to make antibody-based medicines – called immunoglobulins – for people with rare immune diseases.
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) will take donations at 14 donor centres around England, for an initial three months. There are donor centres in Wolverhampton and Birmingham.
Thousands of patients rely on immunoglobulin medicines for short-term or lifelong diseases and genetic disorders and there is a global supply shortage due to rising demand.
Up until now, the UK has depended on imports of blood plasma from other countries – mainly the US. Donations to NHSBT will bolster the supply chain and improve the self-sufficiency of the UK in producing its own treatments.
The restriction on using plasma from UK donors was introduced in 1998 as a precautionary measure against vCJD.
The restriction was lifted by the Department of Health and Social Care in February, after the independent Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) advised it is safe and can recommence supported by a set of robust safety measures.
Several thousand donors will initially be recruited from the existing NHSBT blood donor base.
To find out more about blood plasma donation call 0300 123 23 23.
