Our preparations for UK plasma self-sufficiency

Our aim is to bring the benefits of transition to hospitals as quickly as possible whilst maximising the use of our current inventory and minimising waste.

Component ordering:

1. From April 2020 we are planning to enable hospitals to order “generic” FFP or cryoprecipitate through OBOS. These orders will be fulfilled with either non-UK or UK sourced plasma components

2. We expect this continuing until September 2020, when we forecast having run down our current non-UK plasma inventory

Component pricing:

3. From April 2020 our intention is to charge one price for FFP and one price for cryoprecipitate, regardless of the origin of the plasma

4. Our proposed pricing will be presented to an extraordinary meeting of the DHSC’s National Commissioning Group (NCG) for further scrutiny

5. The NCG will communicate approved prices around the end of February/early March 2020

Demand planning to support component availability:

6. We have used your feedback to modify our blood donation activity

7. Our demand forecasting assumes appropriate ordering of group A/AB components in particular

8. Please maintain appropriate ordering of high titre negative components; provision of 100% HT neg ordering is not sustainable and we are grateful for your support

Component specification and IT:

9. We will be phasing in a new neonatal small volume FFP component manufactured from domestic plasma to replace the non-UK/MB version.  We will issue a product code to allow you to update your LIMS

10.The new neonatal FFP component will not be manufactured from first-time donations

11. We have met with several main LIMS suppliers to discuss the proposed They indicate that these changes can be accommodated within current LIMS functionality

We would again like to thank you for maintaining your current UK/non-UK component ordering profiles as we undertake this work. This will help us to maintain sufficiency of supply throughout the transition.

 We will provide updates as we progress and thank you again for your continuing support and partnership.

 Alastair Hunter - NHSBT Frozen Component Manager