What is the Welsh Government doing to reduce the reliance on imports of plasma from outside the United Kingdom?
The Welsh Blood Service currently collects approximately 17,000 litres of plasma each year. Of this, 2,500 litres are used to treat patients, while the remaining 14,500 litres are currently used for laboratory-based quality assurance and diagnostic purposes.
Donors in Wales provide all the clinical plasma transfused by NHS Wales, with the exception of a small amount of specially manufactured plasma used for patients receiving repeated / large volumes of plasma transfusion.
Until February 2021, the UK had a ban on using plasma from UK donors to produce medicines such as immunoglobulins due to concerns about Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (vCJD). As a result, the UK relies on imports for these medicines.
The ban has now been lifted, allowing plasma from UK donors to be used for manufacturing life-saving immunoglobulins. This move reduces reliance on imports and benefits NHS patients Efforts are ongoing to create a long-term domestic supply of plasma across the UK, benefiting patients and reducing reliance on imports.