Donate plasma

Donating plasma is saving lives

“World needs you”

Did you know that if you decide to donate plasma you can offer thousands of people the opportunity to lead a normal life?

What is plasma?

Plasma is the yellowish liquid component of blood, in which red blood cells, leukocytes and platelets are suspended.

It is made up of 90% water, as well as mineral salts and proteins necessary for the proper functioning of our body.

What is it for?

• It maintains the balance of the immune system, protecting us from infections, thanks to the work carried out by immunoglobulins.
• It deals with blood clotting, preventing bleeding caused by cuts or wounds, just like platelets.
• In addition, albumin, which is the most abundant protein in plasma (60%), helps keep the fluid inside the blood vessels, preventing it from passing through the walls of the vessels and leaking into the tissues.
• Finally, it also serves to transport various substances, such as drugs, hormones or vitamins to the tissues.

Through donations, plasma is frozen at -40º to be transfused to patients or manufactured as drugs.

Reasons to donate plasma

Your plasma is as unique as you

Plasma cannot be manufactured, but it can contribute to the production of medicines that change and save lives.

In fact, Grifols is a consolidated Spanish company, which is governed by the highest standards of quality and safety in its processes.

You can’t imagine how many people depend on treatments made from donated plasma from people like you.

When we all give a little, we can achieve a lot

Diseases with plasma-derived drugs

AATD

The best-known treatment par excellence made from plasma is Alpha 1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, also known as AATD.

As we have already said on more than one occasion, AATD is a genetic, and therefore hereditary, disease caused by the deficiency of the Alpha-1 antitrypsin protein, which maintains the elasticity of lung tissue.

This protein can be extracted from plasma and used to make your medicine.

Every small proportion of protein extracted in each donation is vital, as around 900 plasma donations a year are needed to produce enough medicine for a single patient.

When you donate, you join thousands of people helping to fight this disease.

In this way, you will help them breathe easier, because they know that there is an exclusive medicine for them.

Hemophilia

It is well known that people suffering from hemophilia are at risk of losing a lot of blood from a small wound and this can become an emergency.

Well, proteins extracted from plasma are used to produce medications that help the blood of people with hemophilia form clots and save lives in the process.

1,200 donations are needed to reach the annual supply of medicine for a single patient.

Do you join the plasma donor team to help reduce the danger in situations of this type?

Emergency situations

Plasma helps save lives in emergency situations and in the operating room

Albumin is the most abundant protein in plasma and is used to make a drug that increases the volume of blood plasma in patients.

This medication may be used to treat or prevent shock after severe trauma, to replace fluid lost due to extensive bleeding or burns, and is also frequently used in surgery.

If an emergency occurs, plasma donors play an important role in such situations.

Immunodeficiency

Throughout your life, the body learns to produce thousands of unique antibodies that help fight infections.

These antibodies, found in plasma, can be combined with those donated by thousands of other people to make a treatment called IVIG, or intravenous immunoglobulin.

IVIG is used to help people who cannot produce enough of their own antibodies to fight infections.

Rh deficiency syndrome

Antibodies in the blood can be used to make anti-D immunoglobulin.

It is usually given to Rh-negative women during and immediately after pregnancy, and prevents thousands of neonatal deaths each year due to Rh incompatibilities.

Decide to help.

How can you donate plasma?

• To become a plasma donor, you must prove that you are between 18 and 69 years of age
• If you weigh more than 50kg, your body will tolerate the donation process.
• A healthy life and a balanced diet are the best tandem to be a better donor.

You can donate plasma up to twice a week, as long as there is a 2-day difference between each donation.

What will happen when you decide to go to a plasma donation center?

1. You will answer a brief questionnaire about your medical history and physical examination.
2. This is a good time to ask any questions you have about the donation process.
3. Your vital signs will be checked and a small blood sample (a finger prick) will be taken.

What is the process to donate plasma?

The donation is made by plasmapheresis, a procedure that filters the blood by centrifugation, returning the rest of the blood components to the donor.

It is a safe, simple technique and does not cause greater discomfort than a conventional blood donation, except for its duration, which reaches 45 minutes.

Current national donations scenario

In Spain, plasma donations are very limited and we cannot be self-sufficient with our own means.

In the United States, donations are paid and on the other hand, in Europe, in most cases it is an altruistic action.

Luckily this issue has been discussed in the European Parliament, in the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI).

Grifols currently provides bonuses, we hope that this tactic can be extended and that in the future, the majority of Spanish donors can be compensated to be able to respond to the growing demand for plasma.

Conclusions

Social awareness

Spain needs donors to save lives, as well as improve the quality of life of thousands of patients who depend on plasma to lead a normal life.

Do you want to join?

Source: Grifols