Effects of donation frequency on U.S. source plasma donor health

Background: Plasma-derived medicinal products (PDMPs) are essential, life-saving medicines manufactured from plasma donated by healthy human volunteers. PDMPs are used to treat a range of rare, serious, and chronic conditions, often genetic in origin. Approximately 70% of the Source Plasma (SP) used for PDMP manufacturing comes from United States (US). The hypothesis of the study is that US donation frequency does not impair donor self-reported functional health and well-being.

Study design and methods: A total of 5608 SP donors from 14 US SP centers were enrolled in a cross-sectional study to assess self-reported health related quality of life (HRQoL) and well-being. By sex, donors were assigned to one of four groups, according to their frequency of SP donation in the 12 months before enrollment. The SF-36v2® Health Survey (SF-36v2) and a survey assessing the frequency of various health conditions that may be associated with impaired immune function over different time periods were used.

Results: There were no statistically significant differences in SF-36v2 scores between any of the donor frequency groups, compared with new donors after controlling for potential confounding and accounting for multiple comparisons among males and females. Cough, cold, occasional fatigue, and sore throat were the most reported health conditions or symptoms, but there was no clear difference among sex or frequency groups.

Discussion: The self-reported data in this study support the hypothesis that compensated donations at US FDA permitted frequencies and volumes are consistent with maintaining donor health. Compared with the general population, SP donors have comparable or better health than the general population.