Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Resources

The Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association (PPTA) and its member companies are closely monitoring the rapidly changing information landscape regarding the spread of Novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) and wish to be a resource for patients, plasma donors, policymakers, and other stakeholders during this pandemic.

Plasma donors save lives! Your donations are even more essential during the current COVID-19 pandemic to ensure patients with rare diseases can keep receiving their lifesaving treatments. Authorities in the U.S. and in the EU have published guidance documents recognizing the essential nature of plasma donation. Please click here to find a plasma donation center near you.

Resources below include:

• Safety
• Advocacy
• A Global Industry Addresses Global Challenges
• FAQs for Source and Recovered COVID-19 Plasma Donors
• Social Media Materials
• More information
• Additional Resources

Safety

As it has done for nearly three decades, PPTA endeavors to be a trusted resource and to share important information about the safety of plasma-derived products and the safety of plasma donation.

Based on the established processes of virus inactivation and removal during manufacturing of plasma-derived products, PPTA concludes that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is not a concern for the safety margins of plasma protein therapies manufactured by PPTA member companies. PPTA’s full statement on the safety of plasma-derived products can be read here.

Plasma donors save lives by donating at plasma centers that collect blood plasma used to manufacture lifesaving pharmaceuticals. PPTA wants to remind current and potential new plasma donors in the United States and in the European Union to know that:

• plasma donation continues to be a safe process,
• there have been no blood-borne transmissions of the coronavirus, and
• the need for plasma donations is just as great as ever!

We encourage people interested in plasma donation to visit www.donatingplasma.org/donation/find-a-donor-center to find a center near them.

Advocacy

As part of its advocacy in support of the needs of patients and plasma donors, PPTA is in touch with decision-makers in the U.S. and the EU. Copies of recent correspondence with decision-makers in the U.S. and EU can be found here.

On March 28, 2020, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security released an updated guidance document that continued to enumerate source plasma donation as part of the critical infrastructure.

Plasma donation centers have been classified as being within the category of essential, critical infrastructure (health care and pharmaceutical supply) that is exempted from general lockdown or closure directives.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the European Commission consider that:

• plasma donors, plasma collection centers and plasma as essential. National competent authorities should include plasma collection centers in their lists of essential services during the Corona pandemic
• national policies should prioritise the supply of personal protective equipment, such as face masks and gloves, for plasma centers in the same way as for hospitals;
• national competent authorities should establish plasma contingency planning and encourage plasma donations for the development of PDMPs
• substances of Human Origin, including plasma for the manufacturing of PDMPs are essential goods and services for which cross-border and free circulation within the EU is crucial

PPTA will continue advocating for patients and donors with authorities in the U.S. and the EU.

A Global Industry Addresses Global Challenges

COVID-19 presents challenges unlike anything the world has experienced in more than a century, but PPTA remains steadfastly committed to its mission to promote the availability of — and access to — safe and effective plasma protein therapies for all patients, no matter where they are around the world.

PPTA member companies operate Source plasma donation centers and manufacture plasma-derived therapies that treat patients with rare, often genetic diseases and disorders, and they are uniquely positioned to address the challenges of COVID-19. Our members are coming together with one another, with government agencies, with academic institutions, and with other technology companies to deliver effective treatments for those most at-risk of COVID-19, while continuing to meet the clinical needs of rare disease patients who rely on access to plasma protein therapies. They are also committed to supporting workers on the front lines of health care throughout the world. 

Please visit our members’ websites below to learn how they are engaging in efforts to combat COVID-19.

• Abbott
• Bio Products Laboratory
• Biotest
• CSL Behring
• Emergent Biosolutions
• Grifols
• Kamada Ltd.
• Kedrion
• Roche Diagnostics
• Takeda

Plasma donation is essential, and PPTA’s members continue to engage in their local communities to stress its importance. They have taken additional steps to keep donors and staff safe throughout these challenging times. Please visit their websites, below, or www.donatingplasma.org to find a center near you.

FAQs for Source and Recovered COVID-19 Plasma Donors

Plasma donors are essential! During the current COVID-19 pandemic, plasma donations are needed more than ever from both Source and recovered COVID-19 plasma donors. To better understand the important role of Source and recovered COVID-19 plasma donors, PPTA has developed a downloadable FAQ.

Social Media Materials

PPTA has created a new Facebook frame promoting the message that #PlasmaDonorsSaveLives. We invite patients, members, and our partners around the world to show their support of plasma donors by adding this frame to their Facebook profiles. Adding a Facebook frame to your profile picture can be done in just a couple quick steps, as outlined below:

Facebook App: Go to your profile. Select the camera icon on your profile pic. Select “Add frame.” Search for “plasma donors” or “#PlasmaDonorsSaveLives” Click “Save” Desktop: Users can also go to https://www.facebook.com/profilepicframes and search for our frame by name or keywords listed above.

Show your appreciation for plasma donors on social media! PPTA has developed graphics for use on social media to spotlight the essential role of plasma donors in providing lifesaving therapies. Graphics are sized for Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn and are available for your use.

Download now!

For More Information

Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., to learn more about PPTA’s activities throughout this current situation on behalf of plasma donors and the patients who rely on their donations.

Additional Resources: 

This information will be updated, as needed, based on new information and additional activities PPTA undertakes to ensure the availability of plasma protein therapies and donors’ ongoing ability to donate plasma.