The growing import reliance for plasma comes with rising costs and supply chain risks

Australians supply just 38% of our plasma needs, and NSW has the lowest donation rate of any jurisdiction. In 2024–25, NSW donated only 26 bags of plasma per 1,000 people. This compares to 84 bags per 1,000 people in the ACT, which is Australia’s highest donating jurisdiction, and 37 in Victoria.

Australia had to spend $600 million in 2023-24 on imported plasma products, according to a market study by the NSW Productivity and Equality Commission.

Australia has a long-standing policy to be self-sufficient in blood and plasma, using volunteer donations. But the Commission projects we will import as much as 66% of our plasma products, such as immunoglobulin, by 2030, up from just 15% in 2010.

The study notes that Australia’s growing import reliance comes with increased costs to taxpayers as Australian governments jointly fund the supply of plasma, with states funding around 40%.

The Commission also highlights growing risks to our plasma supply chain should we face another COVID-19-like pandemic or sudden import disruptions. These kinds of risks led Canada in 2022 to allow paid donations in private clinics, when their import reliance for plasma reached 80%.

The Commission argues there is a clear case for Australia to act now to boost volunteer donations.

Lifeblood, hospitals, the medical profession and health agencies tell us how our blood and plasma donations save lives – noting that one in three of us will need someone else’s blood or plasma.

Unfortunately, we do not have enough plasma volunteers. Formal volunteering has declined across Australia in general over the past two decades. According to Lifeblood, we need 100,000 new donors every year to meet the ongoing need for blood, including plasma products.

The added challenge is that plasma demand is quickly growing in Australia and globally.

The Commission has identified options to support volunteerism to boost plasma supply. These include:

• Paid time off for staff to donate blood and plasma has proven to be effective in boosting donations. More businesses and governments could consider offering paid leave and boosting awareness about the benefits of donating and supports in place.
• Test a range of approaches to enhance the donor experience in Australia, for example, reducing wait times and adopting a centralised registry that matches donor preferences with supply needs.
• More could be done to build on existing Lifeblood initiatives (for example, Lifeblood Teams competitions and mobile units) and expand the evidence base for improving participation. This could include evaluating the efficacy of workplace competitions and blood drives. Initiatives could also be explored in other community settings, like universities and churches.
• Work with NSW public service delivery agencies such as Service NSW and Health NSW to promote existing Lifeblood initiatives.
• Explore avenues to grow the pool of donors and investigate the effectiveness of targeted strategies to recruit different cohorts, such as younger people and those from diverse cultural backgrounds.
• Consider setting local targets and timeframes to focus effort. Canada, for example, set a national target to achieve 50% plasma self-sufficiency over seven years. Setting appropriate Australia-wide or state-based targets would require analysis of our unique circumstances, like current donation rates and local processing and storage capacity.

Read the NSW Productivity and Equality Commission’s Supporting volunteer plasma donation in NSW market study.

Quotes from Peter Achterstraat AM, NSW Productivity and Equality Commissioner:

“Australians are not donating enough blood and plasma to meet growing local demand. Taking an economic approach, this market study lays out the costs and risks of growing import reliance for the first time.”

"We aim to be self-sufficient for blood products, but we’re leaning too hard on paid plasma from overseas."

“Australia currently spends over $600m buying plasma from overseas. If we can increase our own blood donations, this would free up some of the $600m to be spent on other health initiatives.”

“Australia has traditionally been a nation of volunteers. From the volunteers involved in the Sydney Olympics, to the cooks at the local Bunnings BBQ, Australians have been willing to “help their mates” without seeking payment. Canada was forced to allow paid donations when they reached 80% import reliance. We want to remain a nation of volunteers.”

“The task for governments and business is how to encourage more volunteer donors.”

"Victoria has a smaller population but donates more bags of plasma than NSW. It’s time to roll up our sleeves, especially during International Plasma Awareness Week."

“I do also wish to congratulate and thank the many NSW organisations and workplaces listed on the Lifeblood website who are doing a fabulous job in encouraging donations.”