National Audit Office of Lithuania: Human plasma processing system lacks transparency
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Human plasma processing system lacks
transparency, such a conclusions was drawn by public auditors who had performed
performance audit of National Blood Provision System. “Blood of donors is a
national treasure, therefore it is not tolerable that its use is not properly
regulated and supervised. It creates conditions for not transparent and
ineffective use of available resources and public funds,“ said the Auditor
General Rasa Budbergytë. Ministry of Health failed to ensure control of the
system. |
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Lithuania exports some two-thirds of human plasma separated from donor blood and
not used for treatment within the country. A blood donor entity sold human
plasma to Austria‘s human plasma reprosessing company; another company
reprosessed it in Germany, however, only some part of the processed preparations
were brought back to Lithuania by the latter. The remaining plasma products,
which were processed into more expensive products, were sold to German company,
which had reprosessed plasma. In 2006-2008, 42.000 litres of human plasma were
exported from Lithuania.
In the opinion of the National Audit Office, money received for the sold human
plasma should be returned to the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund by blood donor
entities in Lithuania, since namely this Fund pays for preparation of all the
human plasma. Audit report underlines that the Ministry of Health and State
Patients‘ Fund did not exercise a sufficient control over plasma export and
processing, and the performed inspections were not thorough and sufficiently
impartial.
The National Audit Office expressed suspicions that not all the written-off
processed plasma was efficiently used. The National Blood Centre (NBC)
writes-off plasma as used when at least one extracted blood preparation is
brought back to Lithuania, although four different blood preparations may be
produced.
During the audit a finding was made that export of human plasma is not
sufficiently covered by regulations: legislation does not stipulate as to when,
what kind and what amounts of human plasma products should be returned to
Lithuania. Legislation does not also stipulate the use and control of use of
money received for the sold plasma and its intermediate products.
Full report is available in Lithuanian:
National Blood Provision System