First NHS patients now receiving medicine made from the blood plasma of Derbyshire blood donors

NHS patients around the country are now receiving a lifesaving medicine made from the plasma of blood donors in Derbyshire.

This historic milestone marks the first time in a quarter of a century plasma is being used to make life-saving medicines for NHS patients, reducing reliance on imports.

Plasma makes up 55 per cent of our blood and contains antibodies which strengthen or stabilise the immune system.

The antibodies are separated out and made into medicines which treat people with life limiting illnesses such as immune deficiencies.

Over the past three years, plasma from blood donors in Derbyshire and across England was stored up and then made into medicines through a weeks long manufacturing process. The first patients are now receiving the medicines.

The most important medicine is immunoglobulin. In Derbyshire, hundreds of patients need this medicine each year. University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust treated 118 patients with immunoglobulin in the last reported year.

Blood donors in Derbyshire have provided enough plasma to treat more than 50 people with immunoglobulin a year.

In England, around 17,000 people rely on immunoglobulin to save or improve their lives each year. And thousands of patients rely on albumin – another plasma medicine – which is used in childbirth, trauma, and to treat liver conditions.

The news is important because there is a global shortage of plasma medicines. The NHS has previously relied solely on imported plasma medicines as a lasting legacy of Variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease.  

The new supply of UK plasma medicines will bolster supplies to the NHS. It will reduce reliance on imports, which can be hit by reductions in supply and prices spikes. 

There are two ways that you can give plasma. Every time you give blood in Derbyshire, your plasma may be used too. Or you can donate plasma at three specialist sites in Birmingham, London and Reading.  

A recovered plasma donation gives us around 270 millilitres of plasma, whereas a plasma donation can give us between 560 millilitres and 700 millilitres.

Patrick Stacey, 58, from Langley Country Park in Derby, welcomed the news. He received five days of immunoglobulin treatment for the life threatening neurological autoimmune disorder Guillain Barre Syndrome.

“I know firsthand how important these medicine help save lives. It’s a relief to know we’re now making it from local blood donations too,” said Pat, a consultant engineer, who developed the illness in Spring 2021. 

He started to get pins and needles in his hands and his legs began to feel cold and numb. He began to have difficulty walking and collapsed while shopping in Tesco.

Guillain Barre is a very rare and serious condition where the body’s immune system starts to attack the nerve cells. 

As the illness advances, people can lose the ability to swallow and even breathe. Immunoglobulin can help by calming down the immune system, so that it stops and reduces the attacks on the nerve cells.

Patrick said: “I was treated with a five-day course of immunoglobulin, which the doctors said would limit the damage. Without it, it’s more likely that I would have suffered permanent damage.”

The illness was already advanced and Patrick’s case so severe he ended up in intensive care for 63 days.

Pat said: “Without the immunoglobulin treatment beforehand, maybe I would not have made it.”  He added: “I think it’s great we can now take donations and build supplies here again.”

Leanne Penty, 41, from Littleover in Derby, welcomed the news because her son Harley needs regular immunoglobulin infusions, after his immune system was damaged by chemotherapy.  Harley, aged 11, survived Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL). But the treatment compromised his immune system and not longer produces enough antibodies to fight infections. 

He will rely on plasma donors giving him protection for the rest of his life.

Leanne said: “I am so grateful to everyone who donates blood. You are not just helping with your red blood cells – now the plasma in your blood donation is helping people too.”

Harley was diagnosed at 15 months after developing a small rash on his neck.

Doctors at Royal Derby A&E found his white blood cell count was dangerously high and he was rushed to the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham. 

He endured months of chemotherapy and the side effects including permanently damaging his body’s ability produce antibodies.

But thanks to immunoglobulin he is protected from infections and continues to live a vibrant and active life with his family.

Leanne said: “He’s happy, chatty, and so full of energy. He loves being with his family, whether it’s drawing or just being silly with his brother and sister. It’s such a relief to see him doing so well after everything he’s been through. We have been through so much, and we know how close we have come to losing him. The trauma of seeing him so ill and knowing there was nothing we could do was unbearable.

“But now, thanks to these lifesaving treatments, Harley is doing well, and we are hopeful for the future.

“I think people don’t realise how vital blood plasma is. When I tell people about Harley’s condition, they’ve never heard of it. Donations literally keep my son alive.”

Daniel Cooper, NHSBT Assistant Director for Blood Donation Operations, said: “Thanks to our amazing blood and plasma donors in Derbyshire and across England, for the first time in a quarter of a century, patients are now receiving plasma medicines made from donations taken in England.  

“We need more blood donors to help make more of these medicines and build UK self-sufficiency.  Your donation is now helping save lives in new ways. Go to blood.co.uk to become a donor.”

Dr Susan Walsh, the Chief Executive Officer of Immunodeficiency UK, said: “This is a historic moment – patients from Derbyshire can now get lifesaving and life-improving immunoglobulin medicine made from the plasma of UK blood and plasma donors.

“Immunoglobulins recognise dangerous micro-organisms and help the immune cells to neutralise them. It’s a vital treatment for people with immune disorders.

“We urge people in Derbyshire to try blood donation. Your red blood cells will be used as normal. But now the blood plasma can also help vulnerable people with immune disorders.”

The NHS needs more blood donors. Go to www.blood.co.uk to become a donor.