Tehran University of Medical Sciences

Science Communicator Platform

Stay connected! Follow us on X network (Twitter):
Share this content! On (X network) By
Source Plasma Donation: The Experience of the Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization



Mohammadi S1, 2, 3 ; Aghabozorg F3 ; Balagholi S3 ; Ferdowsi S3 ; Sharifi S3 ; Eshghi P3, 4
Authors
Show Affiliations
Authors Affiliations
  1. 1. Hematology-Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  2. 2. Research Institute for Oncology, Hematology and Cell Therapy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  3. 3. Blood Transfusion Research Center, High Institute for Research and Education in Transfusion Medicine, Tehran, Iran
  4. 4. Pediatric Congenital Hematologic Disorders Research Center, Research Institute for Children`s Health, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Source: International Journal of Hematology-Oncology and Stem Cell Research Published:2022

Abstract

Background: A declining need for red blood cells coupled with strengthening demand for plasma-derived medicines has led to a strong focus on moving whole blood donors to plasmapheresis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the four-year policies of the Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization (IBTO) in terms of plasmapheresis recruitment of first-time donors and its effect on plasmapheresis outcome. Materials and Methods: Plasmapheresis data related to 16 centers from 2016 to 2019 was obtained from IBTO software. This information includes; (1) blood donation number, (2) plasmapheresis donation number, (3) number of plasmapheresis donors, (4) plasmapheresis donor demographic data, (5) plasmapheresis donor status, (6) frequency of plasma donation for each donor, (7) volume of plasma and (8) the prevalence of transfusion-transmissible infections (TTIs) in plasmapheresis donors. Results: The result of this study demonstrated that plasmapheresis collection centers have recruited 85,515 (91%) first-time and 8,595(9%) regular and repeated donors from 2016 to 2019 years. Plasmapheresis to blood donation index was increased from 0.2% in 2016 to 4.9% in 2019. The mean donation number was 2 times per year. The trend of the yearly Whole Blood Donation (WBD) Index decreased from 26.69 to 24.11/1000 for the general population. The total volume of collected source plasma was 49,203 liters during this period. However, 46,000 liters of recovered plasma were decreased due to less WBD. Furthermore, the results indicated that the prevalence of HCV was significantly higher in first-time donors compared to repeated and regular donors (P = 0.000). Conclusion: It is concluded that during four years, the net volume of plasma did not increase and plasmapheresis led to reducing WBD in our country. Moreover, first-time plasmapheresis donors can be associated with challenges such as increasing screening costs and compromising the safety of plasma resources. Therefore IBTO decided to stop the project and focus on its main role to prepare safe and sufficient blood components through WB collection and also single donor platelet and concurrent plasma by plateletpheresis. © 2022 Tehran University of Medical Sciences.