Italian partnership
We at Kedrion believe it is in the best interest of communities, regions and countries everywhere to become self-sufficient in plasma and plasma-derived products. We are ready to help countries, regions and health care systems achieve this goal. Our history has provided us with unique experience and capacities to do so.
While we grow, we do not forget our roots in this history.
A partnership for people
The Italian blood system is committed to self-sufficiency in plasma-derived products and it is making significant progress toward that goal. It is a public system – a part of the National Health Service, and since our beginning, Kedrion has been honored to partner it.
Italy collects blood in 318 hospital-based Blood Transfusion Centers from some 1,700,000 donors. Kedrion receives plasma from many regions of the country, converts it to medicinal products and returns those products to help meet the therapeutic requirements of the entire population. All donations are – by law – voluntary, anonymous and unremunerated. Donors generally belong to one of four main donor associations (AVIS, FIDAS, FRATRES, Croce Rossa Italiana) that provide support and information to their members. These organizations play a valuable and effective role in communicating to the donor community. Kedrion is reaching out to these associations, providing them with important information about how donations are processed and how they help others “Keep Life Flowing”.
Informing donors
We are arranging tours of our plants and conducting seminars to inform donors about how vital their contributions are to their neighbors and their communities. Many donors are learning more about just how their donations save or improve lives. Informed donors might put more effective pressure on the whole system, resulting in better and more efficient practices.
All of these educational and support activities are aimed at enhancing plasma collection and contributing to the Italian commitment to self-sufficiency. Kedrion is especially focused on young people who are the basis for the future of the donor system. Today the country has achieved an annual total of 750,000 liters of plasma with a yearly increase in the last decade of two to three percent.
The operational model
As the major plasma fractionator for Italy, with a full-cycle production capacity, Kedrion has developed an operational model that is highly competitive, efficient and finely tuned to the Italian blood system’s unique expectations and needs. Our experience has allowed us to partner with other countries, regions and systems to provide everything needed to move from plasma dependence to plasma self-sufficiency, from consultation to building a full collection-to-derivative distribution system. As we expand further into world markets we bring this experience, our dedication to research and development, and our substantial industrial capacity. Our commitment to community self-sufficiency expands with us.
The way forward
Our partnership activities and procedures have been developed and refined with extensive experience and constant appraisal. With modification appropriate to local needs, circumstances and cultural values, they can be implemented internationally based on:
- National commitment to self-sufficiency of blood, plasma and derived-products integrated in the national health policy.
- The social contribution and the strategic role of donors.
- A cost-effective model that reduces importation to fulfill unmet medical needs and product demand.
- Local collection, fractionation and distribution to help maintain quality and safety of blood components, plasma-derived medicinal products and transfusion procedures.
- Potential to transfer best-practice technological experience and know-how to partners.