A blood product you didn’t know about

To date, SANBS has produced 1674 batches of the Serum eyedrops, providing relief to about 1680 patients suffering from dry eye syndrome.
The serum eye drops (SEDs), manufactured at SANBS headquarters in Johannesburg, are produced from the serum component of autologous (one’s own) or allogeneic (other person’s) blood donations. The eye drops generally are used in the management of severe ocular surface diseases (OSD) including dry eye syndrome.
“This is a year of celebrations for SANBS, the year of our 21st Anniversary, not only have we been fulfilling the important mandate of saving lives, but we have also been utilising our expertise to contribute further to the country’s healthcare sector, including eyecare solutions,” says Dr Riana Cockeran, Senior Manager of Translational Research and Cellular Therapy at SANBS.
Over the years, recipients of the serum eye drops have reported improvement in symptoms such as dry, painful and itchy eyes. Improvement in daily tasks such as reading, night-driving, working on the computer and watching TV were also noted. These results are significant as SEDs are reserved for patients who have not responded to standard therapy and have therefore tried multiple treatment options without success.
“Most people are not aware that SANBS manufactures this product. Closing off eyecare awareness month, we want South Africa to know that we offer an alternative remedy to those that have been long battling with eye conditions such as dry eye syndrome.” said Dr Cockeran.
In 2021, SANBS published research conducted over a five-year period from January 2015 to December 2019, where a total of 671 SED batches were produced for 114 patients from both the private and public sectors across the country. The study found that the most common reason for SEDs use in our patient population was dry eye syndrome and most of our patients were women, while the average patient age was 60 years with a range of 21 to 92 years.
The study found that because of the age of most of the recipients, allogeneic blood donations comprised 69.3% of SEDs produced while 30.7% were produced from autologous blood donations. The main reason for using allogeneic blood donations was failure of patient to fulfil criteria to donate whole blood units including age, haemoglobin level and medical comorbidities. Other reasons included patient preference and distance from a blood donation site.
As this therapy is still used specifically according to the patients’ condition, and after the prolonged use of other treatments without favourable results, SEDs are currently made to order, with future plans of developing a more cost-effective off-the-shelf product. Individuals that believe that they are good candidates to receive this treatment can ask their doctors for more details.