Héma-Québec announced Tuesday morning the upcoming opening of a new center in Drummondville dedicated exclusively to plasma donations, as demand for this blood product continues to grow.
The center which will eventually accommodate eight sampling chairs should open its doors at the beginning of 2025. This is the 12e plasma donation center in the province and the only one in the Centre-du-Québec region.
Héma-Québec’s objective is to collect 12,500 plasma donations per year. Plasma is the liquid part of blood. Golden in color, it is rich in proteins which are the basis of several specialized medications essential for thousands of people.
“Plasma is transformed into drugs that are administered to people who have orphan diseases or rare diseases,” declared Josée Larivée, spokesperson for Héma-Québec.
While a man can donate blood at intervals of 56 days, and 84 days for a woman, it is possible to donate plasma only every 6 days.
Platelets (if the person does not donate them) and red blood cells are given back to the patient, which means that the population can donate more frequently.
Héma-Québec conducts mobile blood donation drives, with a goal of collecting 1,000 blood donations every day to meet demand. However, to collect plasma, different equipment is necessary, hence the establishment of centers with storefronts.
Immunoglobulins are the main drug made with plasma, Dr.r Marc Germain, vice-president of medical affairs and innovation at Héma-Québec.
“Immunoglobulins are a soup of antibodies that we have in circulation naturally or that we have developed after encountering infectious agents. These antibodies are present in the plasma, he explains. And through very advanced industrial processes, we are able to extract immunoglobulins in plasma. »
Immunosuppressed patients are particularly dependent on immunoglobulin medications. “These people have no or very few circulating antibodies, so they are susceptible to a whole series of infections,” said D.r Germain.
He noted that some patients will need immunoglobulin throughout their lives due to a genetic problem. In other cases, patients will lose the ability to make antibodies due to treatment.
“There is a category of patients who need these products to survive and others who need them to have an acceptable quality of life,” said D.r Germain. Among others, he says, there are people who without immunoglobulin would have repeated infections, often requiring hospitalization.
According to Héma-Québec, around fifty specialized medications made with plasma are distributed across the province.
“There are other pathologies that can be treated with immunoglobulins, in particular a whole series of autoimmune diseases,” indicated Dr Germain.
For these diseases, the body produces antibodies that attack the body itself or certain organs, the doctor explained. By giving immunoglobulins, it reduces the symptoms of the disease.
Héma-Québec is responsible for supply strategies and the purchase of products manufactured mainly from plasma, in addition to managing the reserve and distributing blood products to hospital centers.
The organization aims to achieve 42% self-sufficiency in intravenous immunoglobulins by 2027. For now, it has reached 31% self-sufficiency for this product. Héma-Québec emphasizes that this constitutes a major challenge in maintaining a balance between growing demand and donations.
The Canadian Press’ health content receives funding through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. The Canadian Press is solely responsible for editorial choices.