The Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ) of the Senate approved, this Wednesday (4), a Proposal for Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) that can change the process of blood donation in Brazil.
The PEC proposes to amend the Federal Constitution (CF), allowing the paid collection and sale of human blood plasma.
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However, the proposal still needs to be approved both in the Senate plenary and in the Chamber of Deputies to effectively change the CF.
The change mentioned by the PEC focuses on the section of the CF that prohibits the sale of “organs, tissues and substances human resources for transplantation purposes”, as well as the “collection, processing and transfusion of blood and its derivatives”.
If approved in both houses of Congress, by at least ⅔ of the members of each, the amendment will create an exception for the blood plasma, allowing its collection, processing and commercialization.
The PEC also stipulates that human blood will have preference for use in Health Unic System (SUS). Within the SUS, the private sector will be able to act in a complementary way to health care, following existing regulations.
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Senator Daniella Ribeiro (PSD-PB), PEC rapporteur, emphasized that the change aims to meet the demands of the biotechnology industry.
Furthermore, the measure could reduce Brazil's dependence on importing medicines for patients with disorders related to blood clotting, such as hemophiliacs.
Approval in the CCJ was achieved with 15 senators in favor of the rapporteur's report and 11 votes against. Now, the proposal will go to the Senate plenary, where it will be debated in more detail.
Senator Marcelo Castro (MDB-PI) argued that allowing the sale of blood plasma could harm social relations and solidarity in blood donation.
The rapporteur, in turn, clarified that the remuneration for plasma collection was removed from the PEC text. This way, there would be no financial compensation.
During the discussions, senator Zenaide Maia (PSD-RN) also expressed concerns, stating that the poorest would be the main blood donors, while large industries would benefit from the commercialization of plasma human.
In addition to the senators' concerns, Hemobrás, the state-owned company responsible for processing and distributing blood products, issued a note defending the expansion of its operations and greater integration between blood banks public and private.
The National Health Council (CNS) also took a stance against the PEC, citing concerns about the private activity in the collection and processing of human plasma, as well as the commodification of substance.
The Ministry of Health stated that remuneration, compensation or commercialization in blood collection or plasma could disrupt the country's national blood policy, recognized worldwide for its excellence.
