Federal panel urging Canada to ramp up efforts to collect blood plasma

Jurisdictions like the U.S., where paying donors for plasma is allowed, have significantly higher rates of plasma collection compared to others where compensating plasma donors is prohibited, the report says.

Collecting large volumes of source plasma using volunteer donors can be up to four times more expensive than commercial plasma operations, it adds.

“Evidence indicates that, notwithstanding the funding for blood operators to meet collection targets to achieve self-sufficiency, often source plasma programs based on volunteer donors just simply can’t make their targets.”

Private, paid-plasma clinics currently operate in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick, where Canadian Plasma Resources — which has an operating license from Health Canada — pays donors up to $50 for each contribution they make. And Prometic, a manufacturer in Winnipeg, has for years operated a source plasma collection centre using paid donors.

Ontario, Alberta, and Quebec have banned for-profit plasma companies; British Columbia introduced legislation last month that would also ban the practice.

The report says there is no evidence that plasma from paid donors — a growing trend in some jurisdictions in Canada — is unsafe.

Twenty years ago, the closely watched Krever inquiry tabled a final report documenting how thousands of Canadians contracted HIV and hepatitis C through tainted blood and blood products, including plasma that was imported from the U.S.

“In the many discussions with stakeholders across Canada and internationally, the memory of this historical crisis in the safety of the Canadian blood supply and that of other countries around the world has not faded,” said the report.

Significant changes to Canada’s blood system have been put in place in response to that tragedy, it notes.

Nonetheless, there is nothing to suggest that commercial plasma collection or compensating donors would negatively affect blood collection, the report concludes — although it does recommend a measure of care.

“We would caution that this is an issue which should be further researched and it requires ongoing oversight and vigilance.”

Safe blood advocate group BloodWatch.org dismissed what it called the “heavily edited” report, accusing the panel of ignoring warnings from Canadian Blood Services that for-profit plasma collectors would harm the security of Canada’s blood supply.

Canadian Blood Services said it remains concerned about large-scale expansion of the commercial plasma sector “crowding out” the volunteer donor system, and echoed the call for safeguards to ensure paid-plasma operations don’t take over entirely.

Still, the agency is urging Canada to take steps to increase its own stores of source plasma and reduce the country’s dependence on the U.S.

“The report describes Canadian Blood Services’ plan to collect more plasma as an appropriate response for reaching these goals.”

Janice Dickson, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Federal panel urging Canada to ramp up efforts to collect blood plasma

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