The Khorasan Razavi Blood Transfusion Organization has received international certification for the production of plasma and other blood products from CSL-Plasma Inc. and the Paul-Ehrlich-Institute, both under the supervision of Germany’s Federal Ministry of Health.
The biennial certificate was conferred in early May after German experts visited the provincial blood donation centers and scrutinized the different blood production processes, IRNA reported.
Iran is the only country among the 22 countries and territories in the World Health Organization’s Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO) to be accredited by international institutions in the field of plasma production.
Khorasan Razavi is the third after Tehran and Fars provinces whose blood transfusion organizations (BTO) have received international credentials. Currently, there are 17 BTO centers in the country.
The certificate enables the province to export its extra plasma for the production of plasma-derived medication, as it guarantees that the product meets global standards.
“Thanks to the efforts of the BTO staff, the shortcomings, including the deficiencies in the areas of work environment, personnel’s skill and knowledge, and standards of blood preparation were remedied to bring them on par with European standards, which earned them the certification,” said Hamidreza Eslami, head of the provincial BTO.
Governor Alireza Rashidian’s office also supported their efforts by allocating five billion rials ($147,000) to improve working standards at the BTO.
The Khorasan Razavi BTO supplies blood and plasma products for 57 hospitals in the province. In the past one year, it has collected 300,000 units of blood.
CSL Plasma Inc. is one of the world’s largest collectors of blood plasma. Headquartered in Boca Raton, the company is a division of CSL Behring, a leader in the plasma protein therapeutics industry headquartered in the US.
The Paul-Ehrlich-Institute is the Federal Institute for Vaccines and Biomedicines in Germany. It is a senior federal authority in the field of medicinal products providing services in public health.
