Changes to the Donation Wait Period
juin 20, 2019
Presently, plasma donors are permitted to make one plasma donation in a 7-day period in accordance with CPR’s Health Canada approved standard operating procedures. This regulation has restricted the amount of plasma that can be collected as well as the amount of money donors can receive. Thankfully, this will no longer be the case as of July 5th, because long awaited changes to the plasma donation wait period are finally here!
In today’s blog we’ll be going over everything you need to know about the plasma donation changes that will come into effect on July 5th.
Increased Weekly Plasma Donation Frequency
Donation frequency will be changed from once a week to two donations in a 7-day period. Donors that opt to donate twice in a week need at least one rest day between the two donation days. For example, you can donate on a Monday and Wednesday, and the next time you’d be eligible to donate would be the following Monday.
Increased Six Month Plasma Donation Frequency
Currently, donors are allowed to donate a maximum of 18 to 23 times in a six-month rolling period depending on their weight. In accordance with the changes made to the frequency of weekly donations, six-month cumulative volume limits will no longer have such restrictions. Plasma donors are now permitted to donate up to 104 times in a year, or twice a week for 52 weeks.
Total Protein Measurements Taken During Registration
Donor safety standards are changing along with the donation wait period, and total protein (TP) is an increasingly important parameter to assess donor eligibility. TP will now be measured in screening stations during the donor registration process as opposed to after donation.
A finger stick test will be performed using a single use sterile lancing device. After a blood sample is collected, the capillary tube will be spun and hematocrit (HCT) and TP will be measured. HCT measurement is replacing the hemoglobin (Hb) which is done at reception. The minimum acceptable TP level is 6.0 g/dl and the minimum acceptable HCT measurement is 38.0%.
Donors with unacceptable TP and HCT levels will be deferred and ineligible to move on to a plasmapheresis session the day they have been tested. Once TP and HCT levels have returned back to normal, a donor can resume with subsequent donations.
What This Means for Canadian Plasma Resources
Plasma donors at Canadian Plasma Resources will soon have the opportunity to donate more frequently and will be paid accordingly. Keep your eyes peeled for changes to our donor compensation plan!
Book your next appointment today!
