David McIntosh: The World Needs 5 Times More Plasma to Save Lives
David McIntosh, Founder and Chair of United Plasma Action, reposted Hemostasis Today on LinkedIn:
“Dr Sivasubramaniyam is sooo right!
The global challenge is enormous.
His post sets it out comprehensively.
But, CSL can’t tackle this alone.
Not even the United commitment of all the World’s pharmaceutical companies can achieve what’s necessary without help.
With the support of Governments, Regulators and Healthcare Authorities worldwide, our horrendous rare disease problems can be made a thing of the past. Without their help, they can not.
To bring the help that 200 million patients and undiagnosed rare disease sufferers in this World still desperately need, what’s required is more raw material for medicines production.
The one single most important thing to achieve is a huge increase in the availability of pharmaceutical grade plasma – currently standing at only some 20% of what’s needed.
Globally, to alleviate suffering and save lives,we need FIVE TIMES AS MUCH PLASMA AS IS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE
- How to achieve that? – collect more, of course.
- How to collect more? – use the plasma collection policies and methods already well established in a minority of enlightened countries in the World – obviously.
- So why hasn’t this already been done? – because misguided influential people and organisations choose to believe that these collection methods are inappropriate. This belief is utterly wrong and disasterously counter-productive, but it’s nevertheless highly influentially – a stubborn block to improved patient care, globally.
- Net result …? – some 200 million patients suffer and die, for lack of a vital raw material that’s ubiquitously plentiful worldwide, but is denied to them by outdated rules and regulations that have no place in modern medicine.
- Changing the rules will change the game – and save millions of lives. Sticking pig-headedly to the old rules will continue to cost lives – and cause untold unnecessary suffering.
It’s surely time for all of us to stand up for what we know is right – and insist on the establishment of Voluntary Reasonably Compensated Donation as the universal approach to plasma supply, globally …..
surely …. the suffering has to stop!”
Quoting Hemostasis Today’s post:
“CSL Champions Global Equity in Rare Disease Diagnosis and Treatment – Sujan Sivasubramaniyam”
Read full article on Hemostasis Today.

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