Created on October 03, 2022 | 11:03
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Down by more than a third from pre-pandemic levels
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WHAT/dpa
DThe number of plasma donations in Austria has fallen sharply since the beginning of the corona pandemic and is more than a third below the level of 2019. Up to 5.15 million liters of blood plasma are now missing from the supply of EU countries every year must be imported into the USA. The situation is challenging for medicines that are manufactured on the basis of human blood plasma, PHARMIG Secretary General Alexander Herzog called for donations on Monday.
“Because fewer and fewer people in Austria are donating blood plasma. This increases the risk that too little of it will be available as a basis for the production of urgently needed medicines. Because plasma cannot be produced artificially,” explained Herzog in a press release from the Association of the Austrian Pharmaceutical Industry . “Continuous donations are all the more essential.”
The corresponding products are used, for example, in the context of modern therapies for the treatment of cancer, immune disorders and other diseases. A plasma donation is possible nationwide. In Austria, all people between the ages of 18 and 60 are allowed to do this. You must feel healthy and make an appointment to donate at the nearest plasma center by phone.