Turkey is planning to produce its own blood products to end its dependency on imports.
The Ministry of Health will launch a tender for manufacturing the blood products in Turkey.
Irfan Sencan, a senior official at the ministry, says the Turkish Red Crescent already provides thrombocyte and plasma while medicine made out of blood is being imported. “You can produce albumin, immunoglobulin and other blood products from plasma. Their import costs Turkey too much. So, we plan to produce them here,” he said.
Sencan said traceable and safe plasma was needed for the production of blood products. He noted that assigning the Red Crescent as sole authority in bringing blood donation, collection and procession in line with the European Union standards enabled safety of plasma for the production. “We can track the donors and recipients and ensure the health of the plasma.
This is an opportunity to make our own blood products,” he said.
The ministry is now preparing a public tender for mass production. Turkey will join 10 other countries producing blood products. Irfan Sencan said Turkey’s dependency on imports for blood products “of strategic importance” will end while the domestic production will contribute to cover the budget deficit. Turkey also plans to export surplus blood products.
Source Daily Sabah
