The Red Cross in Flanders is taking steps to reduce Belgium’s dependency on supplies of blood plasma from the US. According to a report in Friday’ edition of the daily ‘De Standaard’, Belgium currently source around 50% of its blood plasma supply from the United States. This is despite having a stable overall supply of blood domestically.
Home News
Red Cross Flanders seeks to reduce reliance on blood plasma from the United States
Published:
Red Cross Flanders hopes to reach a tipping point by 2028. By then it hopes for the first time to collect more plasma donations than traditional blood donations. The move to increase domestic blood plasma collection reflects growing global demand for plasma. Blood plasma is used to produce life-saving medicines for patients with immune disorders, blood clotting issues and certain chronic medical conditions.
Blood plasma is a liquid component of blood. More that 91.5% of it is water with the remaining 8.5% being made up of proteins, sugars, fats, salts, hormones and vitamins. Plasma donation involves separating the plasma from the blood and returning the red blood cells to the donor. As the body replenishes plasma more quickly, donors can give plasma every 2 weeks. This compares with every 2 months for donations of blood.
Red Cross Flanders says that upscaling up the collection of blood plasma a necessity. Global demand for plasma-derived medicines continues to rise. Increasing domestic blood plasqma supply will both strengthen Belgium’s strategic autonomy in healthcare and provides with greater security in times of international crisis.