European Plasma Alliance
Who we are
The European Plasma Alliance (EPA) is an alliance of 10 European private sector plasma collectors:
- Biopharma-Plasma Blood Service Center
- Europlasma
- Haema (Grifols)
- KEDPLASMA
- Octapharma
- Plasma Place
- Plasmavita
- Prothya Biosolutions
- Takeda
- Unicaplasma
The EPA’s mission is to promote safe plasma collection practices in the EU with a focus on donor health and donor safety to ensure patients’ access to safe products.
The EPA members currently operate 137 plasma collection centers in four European countries: Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, and Hungary. Last year, EPA members contributed almost 3 million liters of plasma to manufacture lifesaving therapies.
Find a collection center near you: www.donatingplasma.org; www.dieplasmaspende.org; www.darovaniplazmy.cz
Our goals
Foster plasma collection in Europe
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An increasing number of patients across the European Union are diagnosed with life-threatening plasma protein-related disorders, such as Immune Deficiencies, Hereditary Angioedema (HAE), Alpha 1-Antitrypsin Deficiency (AATD), some neurological disorders, or bleeding disorders, such as Hemophilia. Plasma-derived medicinal products (PDMPs) are the primary or, in some cases, the only treatment available for these rare diseases. These developments result in a growing clinical need for PDMPs. |
A key element which determines the availability of PDMPs is continuous access to the safe, high-quality starting material, which is human plasma. To meet the growing clinical need of European patients for PDMPs, Europe needs to increase its collection of plasma.
To meet this need for increased plasma collection, the EPA advocates for:
- Establishing dedicated plasma collection (plasmapheresis) programs and coordinated outreach campaigns toward plasma donors in all European Member States
- Allowing the co-existence of public sector and private sector plasma collection centers
- Stimulating plasma donations by also allowing compensation of donors for the expenses and inconvenience related to the donation, similar to EU Tissues and Cells Directive (2004/23/EC, article 12.1)
- Differentiating between whole blood for transfusion and plasma collection for manufacturing of PDMPs, which is currently lacking in many policy frameworks
These suggestions should be addressed in appropriate policy frameworks at the European and national levels.
Safety is priority
Collecting more plasma from healthy donors in Europe and ensuring adequate patient access to care is stringently linked to preserving donor health.
- Plasma donors are saving lives and EPA members are committed to the health and safety of every person who donates plasma
- PPTA and EPA support donor health studies
- Donors are diverse – Given that the profiles of whole blood donors and source plasma donors differ, “one-size-fits-all” policies are not appropriate
- Monitoring of relevant parameters allows tailoring donation intervals & volume.
The EPA supports policy decisions regarding donor safety that are based on scientific rationale and data, and which include input from all stakeholders in a fully transparent process.
| Contacts: | |
| Mag. Milan Maly European Plasma Alliance, Chairman epa@pptaglobal.org |
Alexa Wetzel Director, Source Europe epa@pptaglobal.org |