ImmunoTek Bio Centers Opens Its 50th Location
By Sandy Santo
(Pueblo, CO) – October 19, 2021 – The largest independent plasma donation center operator in the country is marking a major milestone this week, as ImmunoTek Bio Centers opens its 50th plasma donation center in the U.S. The ImmunoTek center in Pueblo, Colorado opened October 19, 2021, as the 50th center designed, built, and operated by the company.
Since its creation in 2013, ImmunoTek Bio Centers has completed more than six million donations, providing much-needed plasma that is used to make plasma protein therapies and vaccines that treat a myriad of immune disorders, rare diseases, burn victims, cancer patients, and a variety of other illnesses. The opening of the company’s 50th center comes at a time when plasma donations are in great demand.
Plasma donations have dropped significantly because of the COVID-19 pandemic, while the need for it continues to rise. The U.S. provides two-thirds of the world’s plasma, so the new center will help meet that need. More than half of blood is made up of plasma, it is the protein-rich golden liquid portion of blood that remains after red and white blood cells are removed. Once manufactured into medicines, patients depend on plasma-based therapy. To treat just one patient annually requires between 130 – 1,200 plasma donations from healthy donors.
“Donating plasma is truly a life-saving gift. Not only is it used to create valuable therapies and vaccines, but recent research also shows promise with plasma-derived therapies reducing or limiting the effects from Alzheimer’s and dementia,” said Jerome Parnell III, CEO of ImmunoTek. “We are proud to open our 50th center and have more centers already under construction to increase our ability to provide plasma to help those who need it.”
ImmunoTek currently has centers operating in 12 states, with 30 additional centers already in progress and planning underway for more than 60 more sites over the next three years.
Donors in the U.S. are among the few who can be financially compensated for their time while donating. Having a donation center in a community also provides a major economic boost.
“We expect the economic impact of an operating ImmunoTek center to be around $5 million annually,” said Blair McKinney, COO of ImmunoTek. “The community benefits from the construction of this new center, plus ongoing donor compensation, salaries, and operational costs, and our donors know that what they are doing is helping to save lives.”
To be eligible to donate plasma, a medical screening is conducted by in-house medical professionals, along with a medical history and physical exam. Donors can then roll up their sleeves and donate, much like a blood donation. Plasma is removed from the blood through a safe, sterile, self-contained automated process called plasmapheresis. The remaining red blood cells are returned to the donor. Plasma can be donated up to twice a week.
###
Media Contact:
Melissa Lee, APR
DEVENEY, on behalf of ImmunoTek
504-949-3999 ext. 212