As an elected official of the provincial legislature, it was an honour to pass my private member’s bill – the Voluntary Blood Donations Repeal Act. In hindsight, I should have called it, Promoting Plasma Research and Development in the North or An Act to Securing Canada’s Medicinal Needs in the 21 Century, because those are the core aims of this bill. .In its simplest form, this legislation repeals the very partisan and one-dimensional Bill 3 from 2017, the Voluntary Blood Donations Act. That bill gave Canadian Blood Services the exclusive ability to compensate donors for their plasma, inhibiting biopharmaceutical companies from accessing Canadian’s plasma, which is needed to reach breakthroughs in medical treatments. .When considering the impacts of this bill, we need to clarify what plasma is and how it is used. .Plasma is the amber liquid that makes up about 55 per cent of our blood volume and carries blood cells, clotting factors, proteins, antibodies, and much more. .Plasma fractionation is a biomedical approach employed to make life-saving plasma products. These products have wide-ranging clinical applications, from treating hemophilia to burns to immune deficiencies. Put simply, plasma is turned into medication through various means..Proteins can be added to the plasma that are necessary for clotting factors for hemophiliacs. Supplemental antibodies can be mixed into the plasma so that immunodeficient patients can fight infections. Copious amounts of platelets and albumin can be added to help burn and trauma patients heal quicker. Every year, scientists and researchers are discovering new ways of using plasma to deliver treatments to the human body..In Canada, Canadian Blood Services procures blood and plasma from volunteers, which is then used in our emergency rooms, operating theaters, and surgical suites..The plasma that people give to biopharmaceutical companies is fractionated, screened, purified, and then manufactured into life-saving treatments. .The issue around plasma is that there is a worldwide shortage, with only 5 of 195 nations allowing for compensation of plasma donors. These five nations, The United States, Germany, Austria, Czechia, and Hungary, provide the world with 90 per cent of the available plasma therapies. .Fortunately, Canada is a wealthy country, as we are the second-highest purchaser per capita of plasma products, only behind the United States. We purchase these products from biopharmaceutical companies, acquired from foreign nationals in places like Germany and the United States..Around 8,000 Albertans and 50,000 Canadians rely on these plasma-based products. In Alberta alone, we spend approximately $150 million annually on these products. .In 2019, there was a world supply shortage of these life-saving therapies, which put many Canadians at risk. This year, during COVID-19, international supply lines were severed, contributing to the shortage of things like masks, ventilators, and other vital supplies. If there is one thing we can learn from this pandemic, it is that nations like ours need to be more self-reliant and less dependent on foreign countries for equipment and supplies..My consultation process included talking to groups like the Network of Rare Blood Disorder Organization, the Canadian Immunodeficiency Patient Organization, and Plasma for All. These three groups reflect the thousands of Canadians who have such unique health issues that even a year ago, there would have been no treatment for some of their ailments. .Because of the research and innovation in medical science, invested in and performed by international biopharmaceutical companies, these people have hope. .The opposition to my bill comes largely from labour groups. This includes groups like Friends of Medicare and Bloodwatch, who advocate for government-owned health institutions and have therefore been demonizing the bill..An astute reader will recognize that critics use arguments that stem from the Tainted Blood Scandal of the 1980s. The opposition also never refers to the Canadians who need these life-saving products, nor the fact that we have no production of these 21st century medicines here in Canada. In fact, total business expenditures on research and development by Canadian pharmaceutical companies has fallen by 27 per cent between 2001 to 2017, and investment has dropped below $1 billion[1]..This shortcoming in our long-term healthcare plan is one reason that I advocated for this bill, but I also have a personal motivation. Two good friends of mine passed away because they were denied timely tests and medical treatments that were available only in the United States. Michael Jean died at the age of 24 due to lymphoma. Bo Cooper was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and succumbed to the disease at the age of 27..It’s for reasons like these that I put forward this bill. I want biopharmaceutical companies to come here, to Alberta, and develop life-saving treatments along with our high-quality health system and universities. I want Canada to be a world leader in developing life-saving, 21st century medicines..Tany Yao is the MLA for Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo..This is a guest column for the Western Standard
As an elected official of the provincial legislature, it was an honour to pass my private member’s bill – the Voluntary Blood Donations Repeal Act. In hindsight, I should have called it, Promoting Plasma Research and Development in the North or An Act to Securing Canada’s Medicinal Needs in the 21 Century, because those are the core aims of this bill. .In its simplest form, this legislation repeals the very partisan and one-dimensional Bill 3 from 2017, the Voluntary Blood Donations Act. That bill gave Canadian Blood Services the exclusive ability to compensate donors for their plasma, inhibiting biopharmaceutical companies from accessing Canadian’s plasma, which is needed to reach breakthroughs in medical treatments. .When considering the impacts of this bill, we need to clarify what plasma is and how it is used. .Plasma is the amber liquid that makes up about 55 per cent of our blood volume and carries blood cells, clotting factors, proteins, antibodies, and much more. .Plasma fractionation is a biomedical approach employed to make life-saving plasma products. These products have wide-ranging clinical applications, from treating hemophilia to burns to immune deficiencies. Put simply, plasma is turned into medication through various means..Proteins can be added to the plasma that are necessary for clotting factors for hemophiliacs. Supplemental antibodies can be mixed into the plasma so that immunodeficient patients can fight infections. Copious amounts of platelets and albumin can be added to help burn and trauma patients heal quicker. Every year, scientists and researchers are discovering new ways of using plasma to deliver treatments to the human body..In Canada, Canadian Blood Services procures blood and plasma from volunteers, which is then used in our emergency rooms, operating theaters, and surgical suites..The plasma that people give to biopharmaceutical companies is fractionated, screened, purified, and then manufactured into life-saving treatments. .The issue around plasma is that there is a worldwide shortage, with only 5 of 195 nations allowing for compensation of plasma donors. These five nations, The United States, Germany, Austria, Czechia, and Hungary, provide the world with 90 per cent of the available plasma therapies. .Fortunately, Canada is a wealthy country, as we are the second-highest purchaser per capita of plasma products, only behind the United States. We purchase these products from biopharmaceutical companies, acquired from foreign nationals in places like Germany and the United States..Around 8,000 Albertans and 50,000 Canadians rely on these plasma-based products. In Alberta alone, we spend approximately $150 million annually on these products. .In 2019, there was a world supply shortage of these life-saving therapies, which put many Canadians at risk. This year, during COVID-19, international supply lines were severed, contributing to the shortage of things like masks, ventilators, and other vital supplies. If there is one thing we can learn from this pandemic, it is that nations like ours need to be more self-reliant and less dependent on foreign countries for equipment and supplies..My consultation process included talking to groups like the Network of Rare Blood Disorder Organization, the Canadian Immunodeficiency Patient Organization, and Plasma for All. These three groups reflect the thousands of Canadians who have such unique health issues that even a year ago, there would have been no treatment for some of their ailments. .Because of the research and innovation in medical science, invested in and performed by international biopharmaceutical companies, these people have hope. .The opposition to my bill comes largely from labour groups. This includes groups like Friends of Medicare and Bloodwatch, who advocate for government-owned health institutions and have therefore been demonizing the bill..An astute reader will recognize that critics use arguments that stem from the Tainted Blood Scandal of the 1980s. The opposition also never refers to the Canadians who need these life-saving products, nor the fact that we have no production of these 21st century medicines here in Canada. In fact, total business expenditures on research and development by Canadian pharmaceutical companies has fallen by 27 per cent between 2001 to 2017, and investment has dropped below $1 billion[1]..This shortcoming in our long-term healthcare plan is one reason that I advocated for this bill, but I also have a personal motivation. Two good friends of mine passed away because they were denied timely tests and medical treatments that were available only in the United States. Michael Jean died at the age of 24 due to lymphoma. Bo Cooper was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and succumbed to the disease at the age of 27..It’s for reasons like these that I put forward this bill. I want biopharmaceutical companies to come here, to Alberta, and develop life-saving treatments along with our high-quality health system and universities. I want Canada to be a world leader in developing life-saving, 21st century medicines..Tany Yao is the MLA for Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo..This is a guest column for the Western Standard
