Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has been updated on the workflow to implement a national project to produce and collect blood plasma derivatives, the presidency said on Sunday.
The project, implemented in cooperation with Spanish producer of blood plasma-based products Grifols, comes within the state’s efforts to achieve self-sufficiency of plasma-derived medicines and products, Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady said.
The state’s vision, in this regard, aims to meet the requirements of these products, which are used to treat several serious diseases, Rady said, adding that the local industry in this field would also help the state preserve foreign currency.
Plasma-derived medicinal products are industrially obtained from human plasma. They include protein products such as albumin, clotting factors, and antibodies, which are used as a treatment for acute life-threatening diseases.
Egypt, along with many other countries, has also encouraged people who have recovered from the coronavirus to donate blood plasma so that it can help treat patients suffering from the novel virus.
In a meeting attended by many state officials on Sunday, El-Sisi affirmed the need to acquire the highest scientific and technological levels of capability in terms of this precise and vital industry, in participation with foreign expertise and in accordance with the latest developments of modern science, Rady said.
Concerned officials at the meeting presented the workflow for the project’s infrastructure, including units and centres for collection and production of plasma derivatives, Rady said.
The meeting also reviewed the aspects related to raising awareness among citizens of the significance and positive outcome this project will have on healthcare.
Attending the meeting, Health Minister Hala Zayed reviewed the latest developments of the coronavirus situation locally and internationally and the measures the government has taken to contain the spread of the virus.
El-Sisi instructed than an in-depth study of the pandemic’s developments and their current and future implications in Egypt should be conducted.
He also urged benefiting from the lessons learned during the first wave of the pandemic, intensifying awareness campaigns among citizens, and strengthening efforts to get the best international vaccines.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Presidential Adviser for Health Affairs Mohamed Awad Tag El-Din attended the meeting.
Chairman of the Unified Medical Procurement Authority Bahaa El-Din Zidan, Director of the National Service Projects Organization Mostafa Amin, and General Manager of the International Medical Centre Mostafa Abu Hatab, also participated in the meeting.
Egypt obtained the first batch of the vaccine developed by China’s Sinopharm in December and started to vaccinate medical workers at quarantine hospitals nationwide.
On Sunday, Egypt received the first batch of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, consisting of 50,000 doses, on board of an Emirates Airline plane coming from India.
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