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Peter O’Leary: For Thousands of Patients, Plasma Medicine Is the Only Chance for a Normal Life

Peter O'Leary/LinkedIn

Oct 24, 2025, 10:17

Peter O’Leary: For Thousands of Patients, Plasma Medicine Is the Only Chance for a Normal Life

Peter O’Leary, Executive Director of the European Blood Alliance, reposted from Sanquin on LinkedIn:

”Plasma is more than that yellow blood fluid; it saves lives.

For thousands of patients with immune deficiencies, autoimmune diseases or muscle diseases, a drug made from plasma is the only chance for a normal life.

This International Plasma Awareness Week is all about 3 things:

Gratitude : For all our donors, many of whom have been donating plasma for years
Awareness : Because not everyone knows what plasma is and what it does
Action : New donors are needed to collect enough. In the Netherlands, in Europe, and globally.

It is important that we make Europe more self-sufficient, that we collect enough plasma to have plasma medicines available for all those patients who cannot do without them.

At Sanquin, more than 7000 plasma donations are made every week. That’s already impressive! But – to grow with the rising demand – they hope to be able to grow that to more than 9,000!’

Wherever you are, whenever you can, donate.”

Quoting Sanquin‘s post:

”International Plasma Week: Life-saving blood fluid for 25,000 patients

Plasma is more than that yellow blood fluid; it saves lives. For thousands of patients with immune deficiencies, autoimmune diseases or muscle diseases, a drug made from plasma is the only chance for a normal life.

There is a problem: the demand for plasma is rising faster than the number of donors. Worldwide.

This International Plasma Awareness Week is all about 3 things:
Gratitude : For all our donors, many of whom have been donating plasma for years
Awareness : Because not everyone knows what plasma is and what it does
Action : New donors are desperately needed to collect enough. In the Netherlands and in Europe.

This is not yet the case. What we lack in plasma medicines in the Netherlands, we have to import. Especially from the United States and Asia (mainly China). This is vulnerable, because if those countries have to meet their own increasing demand, it could lead to shortages in our country. A nightmare for patients who depend on those drugs, sometimes even to survive.

That is why it is so important that we make Europe more self-sufficient, that we collect enough plasma to have plasma medicines available for all those patients who cannot do without them.

At Sanquin, more than 7000 plasma donations are made every week. That’s already impressive! But – to grow with the rising demand – we hope to be able to grow that to more than 9,000!”

Plasma

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