The NHS has now begun using plasma from UK donors, following the lifting of restrictions four years ago, it has been announced.
Restrictions were introduced on plasma sourced from the UK in 1998 amid concern about the risk of new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. The band was lifted in 2021.
The UK Department of Health and Social Care said 250,000 litres of plasma have been collected in England since 2021. The NHS intends to be 25% self-sufficient in immunoglobin by the end of this year, and 80% self-sufficient in albumin by next year.
The first patient this century to receive UK-sourced plasma was Jill Jones, who receives infusions every three weeks in Oxford for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. About 17,000 NHS patients receive regular infusions of plasma for immune deficiencies and rare diseases, according to the Department.
Ms Jones said: “Infusions have been life-changing for me in keeping me well. Before I started on them, I was regularly in hospital with infections - which just doesn’t happen now. It’s made a huge and positive difference to my life and my family’s life. I felt really privileged today to be the first patient in the UK to be receiving immunoglobin that was made from UK plasma for the first time in a very long time.”
NHS England national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis said: “This landmark moment ensures patients relying on crucial plasma-derived medicines will always have access to the treatment they need. Thanks to NHS efforts, new plasma-derived products, owned from start to finish by the UK, will reduce our reliance on imported stock and boost the fortitude of hospital supplies.”
The chief executive of NHS Blood and Transplant Dr Jo Farrar said: “Thanks to the incredible generosity of our donors, NHS patients are now receiving life-saving medicines made from UK plasma for the first time in a generation.”
Baroness Gillian Merron, a minister in the Department of Health and Social Care, said: “This is a significant milestone for the NHS as we take a step towards UK self-sufficiency in these vital medicines. As part of our Plan for Change, we are improving access to life-saving treatments for thousands of NHS patients and strengthening healthcare security.
“By sourcing our own medicine, we are building a more resilient and domestic medical supply chain and boosting economic growth.”
Source: Department of Health and Social Care
Link: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/nhs-patients-receive-first-home-grown-blood-plasma-treatments
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