Why is IVIG costly 3 times the cost of Gold

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Why is IVIG so expensive? 

IVIg is obtained from plasma, donors who are paid then the plasma is sent to  a processing centers for mixing, antibody removal, chemical treatment and filtration to remove viruses.  All this ends up for IVIG to be priced at $ 48 to $ 68 a gram in 2001 today in 2020 its priced $90 to 300 a gram several times the price of GOLD. A single IVIg infusion costs about $3000 for a child and 10,000 for an adult. For a child the cost of IVIg is low because only a few grams are used. The price of IVIg in India is $25 a gram. In Pakistan IVIg costs $20 a gram. IVIg can be bought from China at $10-20 A Gram.

In USA a sucrose IVIg can be bought for $60 (HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED IN 2020) and non Sucrose IVIG for $85 with all supplies and nurse.

A patients report to help you all Anyway I get infused on a Thursday with premeds that include Toredol (anti inflammatory NSAID) and Zofran for nausea.

Most people get Benedryl, but I am allergic to it, so I wait till I get home and take hydroxyzine (Atarax) which knocks me out for a few hours, but prevents allergic reaction which I have never had, thank goodness.

I plan nothing for the weekend but heavy drinking...water, water and more water. Staying hydrated is crucial. And I sleep a lot.

Over the years I've been on IVIG, the pattern of side effects is the same, just a bit different in intensity and timing from batch to batch.

I feel good enough after the infusion, which only takes 2 1/2 hours for me, to go shopping.

Then I go home and take my anti histamine and crash. After waking up from Atarax, I feel pretty normal through noon on Friday when the headache creeps in.

So I start slamming Advil. I take one and see if it kills the headache. If not I take another. Usually 1 will keep it tolerable.

About half the times I get a fever, what we refer to as IVIG flu and slam more Advil.

If my core temp climbs over 100 for any length of time, I melt. My legs give out completely, I end up on the floor and can't get up without help. Nerves just quit sending signals to my legs.

I always feel lethargic and fluey through Sunday mid afternoon. Then just when I want give it all up, the symptoms lift all at once and my energy comes roaring back.

I can function well on Monday and by Tuesday, I feel great and function almost as well as a non MS/Lyme person for the next 5 1/2 weeks when the overwhelming fatigue rolls over me again and I know I am ready for my next infusion.

When I started in April 2009, I went two days a week, then once a week, once every two weeks and gradually worked to once every 6 weeks. So my costs have dropped over the years and should end up at once a quarter for life.

The brand I take is Carimune, which has sugar (dextrose or sucrose, not sure which) and costs about $3000.00 per treatment including all the premeds, lab tests, infusion costs, supplies and so forth.

Cost wise, IVIG is comparable to the MS drugs. They all cost $30,000 a year and up.

IVIG sure beats an injection every day, or every three days, or once a week plus flu like symptoms, permanent welts on your skin or an infusion that ends up with possible PML, a deadly brain infection, or a pill that causes heart issues and so forth.

The risks of IVIG are pretty low for me since I am not diabetic, have excellent kidney and liver function.

[. At the time of this trial, the average price of IVIg in the U.S. was approximately $30 per gram . In the decade following this study, prices for IVIg increased to >$70 per gram for liquid formulations and >$60 per gram for the powder formulation(Cariimmune)  .  Additional supply pressures result from steadily increasing clinical demands for the off-label use of IVIg at a rate of 5-10% annually . During these periods, IVIg prices have risen more than 20% and as of April 2010, the average price for liquid formulations of IVIg had increased to $70.22 per gm.

During this same time, human serum albumin (HSA) prices averaged $30 for a 250 ml bottle. HSA prices reached a low in 2004-2005 and were less than one-half the1999 price in 2007. As of April 2010, the price of a 250 ml bottle of 5% HSA was $34.06.

The new brands

If you cannot afford IVIG , go on a gluten free diet and take Vitamin -D   high dose see the link below, add vitamin K or eat natural butter too with organ meats like liver.