International Comparison of Blood Product Prices

Kim, Sinyoung; Park, Quehn; Park, Jung Ran; Kim, Hyun Ok

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Due to the slowing of population growth, population ageing, and more aggressive medical treatment, Korea will be faced with the challenge of blood shortage. One solution to the blood shortage problem is to take advantage of the multicomponent collection technique. However, clinical application is limited due to the low prices of blood products. In this study, we compared the prices of blood products in 6 major countries.
METHODS
Prices of leukoreduced red blood cells (RBC), platelet concentrate (PC), fresh frozen plasma (FFP), cryoprecipitate (CRYO), and apheresis platelets (AP) were compiled from US, United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Spain, and Korea. Adjusted prices using per capita gross domestic product (GDP) and purchasing power parity (PPP) were estimated and analyzed.
RESULTS
The RBC price in Korea was only 30% of the mean RBC price of the other 5 countries. Considering per capita GDP and PPP, the RBC prices in Korea were estimated up to 41% and 46%, respectively. The PPP adjusted price of PC, FFP, and AP of Korea was 70%, 72%, and 70% of mean price of the other 5 countries. Price ratios of PC, FFP, and CRYO to RBC were 0.59, 0.63, and 0.57, which were higher than the means of the other 5 countries (0.38, 0.47, and 0.32).
CONCLUSION
Considering per capita GDP and PPP, blood product prices in Korea were cheaper than the mean prices of the other 5 countries. For adoption of multicomponent collection, the prices of blood products should be raised, especially the price of RBCs.