Proposal to compensate plasma donors triggers government reaction
The proposal to amend the Constitution (PEC) to allow the remuneration of human plasma donors and its commercialization, including abroad, has inflamed representatives of the blood products sector and provoked a reaction from the Lula administration, which is working to maintain the state monopoly on blood.The aim of the PEC, which is being discussed in the Senate’s Constitution and Justice committee (CCJ), is to change the law so that the country can have a blood market similar to that of the United States, the world’s largest producer of plasma, which compensates donors.Senator Daniella Ribeiro, rapporteur of the matter, amended the original draft of the PEC and added a controversial point: that "the remunerated collection of plasma is allowed, which means the possibility of payment to the donor" and that there is "authorization for the commercialization of human plasma for laboratory use, development of new technologies, domestic and international production of hemoderivative drugs, and others."If approved, the PEC paves the way for the commercialization of blood through payment to the donor, which is currently vetoed by the Constitution, in addition to making the Brazilian Company of Blood Products and Biotechnology (Hemobrás), a state-owned company under the Ministry of Health created in 2005 to reduce Brazil’s dependence on the foreign market for blood products, virtually unviable.Hemobrás’s industrial facilities has been under construction for 13 years and is still unable to process plasma, which at best will not happen until 2025.The blueprint of the proposal has provoked reactions from associations and doctors, who advocate the role of private-sector companies in the collection and processing of plasma, the only way for Brazil to become self-sufficient in this field, but oppose the remuneration of donors, which they consider ethically unacceptable. The multinationals in the sector, however, are lobbying for approval.Plasma is one of the blood components used in the production of medicines for diseases such as cancer, hemophilia, AIDS and kidney failure. Currently, it is extracted from the blood bags of the country’s blood centers, collected by Hemobrás and sent to Europe, where it is processed by Octapharma, one of the largest multinationals in the sector.On the part of the federal government, the possibility of change has provoked a reaction in defense of Hemobrás, which has received investments of more than R$1.4 billion and is...
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