High Demand Drives up Blood Prices and Encourages Synthetics, reveals Kalorama Information

Feb. 17, 2011 - PRLog -- An aging population in the U.S., Europe and Japan, along with technology advances and new products, will grow the global blood market, which is expected to increase at a compound annual rate of 5.9% through 2017, according to a report from healthcare market research publisher Kalorama Information. In its latest report, “Blood Products and Blood Testing Markets,” Kalorama indicates that the strong promotion of blood donations on behalf of collection agencies, along with synthetic blood products, is scarcely meeting the demand for this industry’s products and this continued need is driving up blood prices.

Stored and distributed blood, originally developed to treat war casualties, is now used primarily for testing and transfusions. Kalorama finds more than 50% of transfusions occur in patients over the age of 65, and thus attributes the growth of the blood products market to an aging population, which is inherently driving up prices. In order to meet this increasing demand for blood, donation centers have reached out to more volunteers, collecting red-blood cells, platelets, plasma and occasionally cryoprecipitate, while lab developers continue to seek more synthetic solutions.

“Even though we are talking about a blood product, it does to a degree come down to simple economics,” says Bruce Carlson, Publisher of Kalorama Information. “Demand for blood is increasing and the supply is dwindling, pushing prices higher and allowing synthetic alternatives to take off.”

Synthetic blood products, which do not contain cells, antibodies or coagulation factors, are often used to treat rapid blood loss and acute anemia conditions. Although developments are underway to develop artificial cells or culture red blood cells, recent advances in hemoglobin-based oxygen carriers have helped to safely restore blood loss from surgery, the report finds. Additionally, Kalorama reports that the successful commercialization of synthetic factor products has helped the treatment of hemophilia.

“Since the demand for blood continues to exceed supply, the synthetic products market is expected to take off, with nearly 9% growth each year through 2017,” said Carlson. “Although it is just 22% of the entire blood products market, it will reach nearly a third by the end of the decade.”

Kalorama Information’s report, “Blood Products and Blood Testing Markets,” delivers a segmented overview of the market for blood, focusing on collection and management, human and synthetic products and testing and typing, along with profiles of leading companies in this market. It is available at: http://www.kaloramainformation.com/redirect.asp?progid=81....

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