PVC needs plasticizer to be soft and in today’s blood bags the plasticizer is DEHP, which is classified as a reproductive toxin. Blood bags consist of 30%-40% DEPH. During the last few years PVC has been systematically phased out of many products, including medical devices. Blood bags are one of the remaining products. Wipak is now, together with Melitek, Jegrelius, Totax Plastics, Karolinska University Hospital and Haemotronic, participating in the PVC-Free Blood Bag Project which aims to:

  • Demonstrate how to remove barriers to PVC-free blood bags in the spirit of REACH
  • Show that it is possible to produce a PVC-free blood bag that fulfils requirement specification, including CE-labelling
  • Cooperate with European healthcare to disseminate knowledge and increase demand

For more information about Wipak’s participation in this project, please contact Wipak.