OBI medical officer tells Rotarians for-profit plasma centers impacting local blood donations

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Regulations for blood donation centers and plasma donation centers vary, and the chief medical officer for Our Blood Institute (OBI) told Enid Rotarians that for-profit plasma centers are contributing to a decrease in blood donations at nonprofit centers.

Dr. Tina S. Ipe MD, MPH, said that OBI is the sixth largest blood center in the United States. OBI was created in 1977 when physicians felt there was a lack of blood supply and that patients needed access to blood. She spoke to the Enid Rotary Club on Monday.

Enid’s OBI serves 16 counties and services 11 hospitals.

Ipe said that OBI collects blood products from donors who are not compensated for donating blood. The blood products collected undergo rigorous FDA-required testing. 

“We have conversations with hospitals about the blood products they are receiving, help them manage inventory and also provide medical information to the hospitals that we serve,” Ipe said.

Ipe said that the opening of a new plasma center in Enid has impacted blood donations OBI is receiving.

“What we have noticed with the Parachute Plasma Center opening in Enid, we have not had the same collection numbers as we did previous to their opening. Starting in March, our blood collection numbers have decreased,” she said. Parachute opened in late February.

Ipe said the community should be “concerned” that as blood collections numbers decrease, local hospitals won’t have the blood they need.

She said the FDA prohibits blood donation centers from paying donors; however, FDA does not have the same limitation on plasma centers. That means plasma centers can pay for plasma.

The plasma is the yellow liquid portion of bloods that makes cells move through the body efficiently. Plasma is composed of water and other components.

“It maintains the pressure within your blood vessels,” she said. “Without plasma, your blood vessels would collapse.”

Blood donation centers also take plasma donations.

 “When you go in for a plasma donation at a blood center, we remove some portion of your plasma, and that plasma gets frozen and provided to patients in hospitals,” she said.

The principal difference between a blood center and plasma center is that blood centers are non-profit and plasma centers are for-profit.

Ipe stressed that blood center donations go to local hospitals.  She said FDA requirements are stringent and ensure the safety of the donation.  

She also gave statistics about the number of plasma centers in the U.S., which she said numbers around 1,500. Plasma has become a global business, she said, and the U.S. is one of five countries that compensates for donations.

“Two thirds of the plasma (globally) comes from the United States,” she said. “We do have better safety measures, donors that tend to be healthier than the rest of the world. Our regulations also make it easier for plasma centers to set up shop and allow for paid donations.”

Ipe said some donors can make hundreds of dollars a month through for-profit plasma donation centers. She said being paid for plasma donations is very attractive for those who are economically disadvantaged.

She said plasma centers have become a lucrative business and she showed statistics that show the United States is one of the largest collectors of plasma in the world; yet, the plasma does not go back to the U.S. She said much of the plasma is manufactured at pharmaceutical manufacturing companies outside the United States.

Ipe said OBI is encouraging people to talk to state and federal lawmakers about ways to offset the negative impact plasma centers have on nonprofit blood donations centers, including increasing taxes on plasma centers, taxing plasma donors as generating income, increasing FDA regulations for plasma centers and enacting laws that would require a certain percentage of manufactured plasma be returned to the U.S.

Parachute Plasma Center responds

The Enid News & Eagle reached out to Parachute for comments regarding its plasma center donations and operations.

Eva Anderson, marketing director for JoinParachute, said Parachute has 13 locations, mostly in Texas. Enid is the only Oklahoma location.

“Donors are compensated for taking the time to donate,” Anderson said.

She said that after the donation, the plasma is frozen on site to preserve the purity and freshness of the plasma.

“Once it goes through the testing, we send it out to a U.S.-based drug manufacturer,” she said. That manufacturer handles the fractionation where the plasma is made into medical products.

She said all of Parachute’s production is done within the U.S.

 “Testing covers both safety of the donor as well as anyone receiving,” she said. “We test for all viral markers, any irregular antibodies. Before each visit, we check the donor’s protein and red blood cell levels. When donors come in for the first visit, they get a comprehensive physical. That’s another check to ensure they’re healthy and doing well.”

As for where the plasma donations eventually go, Anderson said the U.S. is one of the only countries that compensates for donations.

“We (U.S.) supply 70 percent of the global plasma for patients . . . since other countries are not compensating, (donors), they don’t have as much supply.”

Community blood drive Tuesday

OBI is hosting an Enid Community Challenge Blood Drive from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 25, in the Stride Bank Center ballroom.

Coffee Inclination will be serving drinks to donors and A Fuego Pizzeria Truck will be there to feed donors.

Each donor will also receive a free t-shirt, a Chick-fil-A meal voucher and a ticket of their choice to Science Museum Oklahoma, Frontier City, or Hurricane Harbor!

The first 100 donors to sign in will receive a free fold up lawn chair!!!

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