The Ulster Unionist Party’s Health Spokesperson, Alan Chambers MLA, has welcomed the announcement that the Health Services across the UK have lifted a ban on UK donors' blood plasma being used to create vital medicines, which help treat thousands of patients across the Health Service.
Alan Chambers said:
“I have just received an answer to an Assembly Question I posed to the Health Minister regarding the lifting of the ban on UK sourced plasma.
“Since 1999, plasma donated from people in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK was prevented from being used to create medicines known as immunoglobulins. This was originally stopped because of concerns that plasma contributed to the spread of Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease, or Mad Cow Disease as it is more commonly known.
“However, scientific study since then, which has culminated in a study published in 2020 by the independent Commission on Human Medicines, found that using UK donor plasma to create these medicines is safe and can now re-start, provided that safety procedures are adhered to.
“The lifting of this ban means that plasma from UK donors can now be used to create immunoglobulins, a type of medicine that has always been used by doctors in our Health Service to treat several conditions, such as patients with poor immune systems due to cancer radiotherapy and patients with antibody deficiencies.
“As a result of this decision we can now create our own immunoglobulins with UK plasma, instead of relying on plasma from other countries, such as the USA which has been our main supplier since 1999. The problem with relying on other countries to source the plasma is that there is a global shortage of the substance, and so we haven’t been able to get as much of it as we have needed.
“In light of this news, I would encourage everyone eligible to donate blood or plasma to our local Health Service. This can be done by contacting the NI Blood Transfusion Service on 028 9032 1414. Never before has this selfless act been so important, especially during the current COVID-19 pandemic, as the number of blood and plasma donors has decreased. Donating plasma now will have an even bigger impact in terms of helping patients across our Health Service.”