Made from Plasma

Donated Plasma Is A Finite Starting Material

The starting material for plasma protein therapies is not an infinite resource. Rather than using synthetic or chemical ingredients, plasma protein therapies are made using human plasma. Plasma cannot be made in a laboratory. Plasma and its lifesaving proteins can only be obtained from donors who so generously give their time to donate.

Pharmaceuticals

Production starts with synthetic or chemical ingredients.

Plasma proteins

Production starts with a biological starting material, human plasma.

Licensure

The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approves medicines for safety & efficacy before they can be sold in the U.S. Plasma protein therapies are the only medicines for which the starting material must also be licensed. In addition to the final products, the FDA qualifies and approves source plasma before it can be used for manufacturing.

Pharmaceuticals

Only the final product must be approved by the FDA.

Plasma proteins

Source plasma donations as well as the final products must be qualified by the FDA each year.

Plasma Collection

Plasma is collected from healthy, compensated donors through a process called plasmapheresis. Plasmapheresis removes a donor’s plasma and returns the remaining blood components.

Plasma is collected at 920+ plasma donation centers in the U.S. After collection, the plasma donation is frozen and shipped to a state-of-the-art facility for manufacture into lifesaving plasma protein therapies.

Every year it takes approximately:

130:

Plasma donations to treat ONE PATIENT with a PRIMARY IMMUNODEFICIENCY DISEASE.

900:

Plasma donations to treat ONE PATIENT with an ALPHA-1 ANTITRYPSIN DEFICIENCY.

1200:

Plasma donations to treat ONE PATIENT with HEMOPHILIA.