PPTA is aware of the guidance documents released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on April 2 regarding Source plasma donor eligibility and is currently evaluating them. Our focus remains, as it has for nearly three decades, on patient and donor safety, and the safety of therapies derived from plasma.
An article published March 25 by Stefanie Dodt and Samuel Gilbert in The Guardian continues the authors’ intentional maligning of plasma donors along the U.S.-Mexico border and perpetuates a divisive misrepresentation of the reality of border life between the United States and Mexico. The Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association (PPTA) and its member companies are grateful for every plasma donor, each of whom directly contributes to saving and improving the lives of people facing serious, inherited, and life-threatening diseases.
Dear Administrator Verma,
I am writing to ask for your consideration as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services explores avenues to protect vulnerable patient populations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association (PPTA) is the standard setting and global advocacy organization that represents plasma donation centers and manufacturers of plasma protein therapies. Our membership accounts for approximately 80% of plasma therapies in the United States. These therapies treat individuals with rare, chronic, and life-threatening conditions, such as immune deficiencies, certain neurological diseases, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, and bleeding disorders.
At this time of global concern regarding spread of the novel coronavirus, PPTA wants to thank the millions of committed plasma donors who make lifesaving medicines for rare disease patients a reality and to remind them that donor safety continues to be a top priority for PPTA and its member companies.
We also want current and potential new donors to know that:
At this time of global concern regarding spread of the novel coronavirus, PPTA wants to thank the millions of committed plasma donors who make lifesaving medicines for rare disease patients a reality and to remind them that donor safety continues to be a top priority for PPTA and its member companies.
PPTA considers that the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak is not a concern for the safety of plasma protein therapies manufactured by PPTA member companies. The assessment is shared by notable international and national public health bodies, including the WHO, the ECDC, and others.
On December 12, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3, “The Lower Drug Costs Act,” sponsored by Energy & Commerce Chairman, Rep. Frank Pallone, D- NJ. This bill, known as Speaker Pelosi’s drug plan, would put at risk patients with rare diseases who rely on access to plasma protein therapies.
On December 11, Newsweek published an article by K Thor Jensen titled “2% of U.S. export income comes from selling blood.” The headline is grossly inaccurate, and the accompanying article misrepresents and distorts publicly available data.
A recent documentary, “Blood Trade – Health vs. Dollars,” published by a German television network, focuses on the role plasma donors play in providing blood plasma, the starting material used to create therapies for patients around the world living with rare, serious, and sometimes life-threatening diseases. The Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association (PPTA) and its member companies agree with the reporters that plasma donors save lives.
On February 1, The New York Times published an article that lacked balance in its portrayal of Source plasma donors. Plasma donors, including Jacqueline Watson, Kevin Hayway, and Robert Jenkins, all of whom are discussed in the article, deserve our deepest respect, gratitude, and appreciation, not negative characterizations and insinuation.
