Square plans to set up blood plasma fractionation plant

Shamsul Huda | Published: April 21, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

A leading pharmaceuticals company is planning to set up a blood plasma fractionation plant for commercial purpose.
The initiative is the first of its kind in Bangladesh, where blood demand is still met by donors and in many cases use of contaminated whole blood causes death.
Square Pharmaceuticals Limited has placed a proposal before the drug office for setting up the plasma fractionation plant, a senior company official said.
The fractionation plant will segregate blood components and also plasma factors, which are available in the market like other pharmaceutical products.
The pharmaceuticals company is now assessing necessary legal aspects in blood policy that would help it in collecting blood commercially and also secure their investments.
Currently blood demands are met by donors but in many developed and developing states in the world fractionated components and factors are considered to be pharmaceuticals products and are available in the market.
Square has planned to invest in making blood components available to the people by fractionating plasma and separating whole blood into components.
"We are waiting for legal support in the blood policy," a director of the company said preferring anonymity.
He said currently people are not getting safe and quality blood and during emergency it becomes scarce.
He said most of the blood banks and hospitals in the country, blood is not screened perfectly, which makes people sick after transfustion.
Dr. Ashadul Islam, chairman of the Safe Blood Transfusion Department in the BSMMU said, "I know about the Square's initiative in setting up plasma fractionation plant."
He said it is a highly technical matter and huge investments are needed for it.
Apart from Square many other leading conglomerates have also shown their interest in blood fractionation.
Dr. Islam said the blood policy has not mentioned anything regarding commercial fractionation and collecting blood for commercial purpose.
He said, "We are assessing the whole policy and trying to help the interested investors so that they can invest money."
He said a pharmaceuticals company has discussed with him that they would commercially collect blood from their employees and later from other people.
He said it is not a bad idea but there should be certain provisions in the policy to make sure that quality is maintained while collecting blood.
Currently a rare group blood components and factors are not available when needed but after start of the commercial fractionation all types of factors and components will be available in the market.
A blood transfusion expert at the BSMMU said fractionated factors and components would be safer than direct use of whole blood as safety and quality of blood during commercial collection are usually maintained by the companies.
The BSMMU safe blood transfusion department chairmen said a provision must be included in the blood policy to govern blood business.