Octapharma providing humanitarian assistance in Türkiye
Octapharma is making a significant donation of our life-saving products to support people affected by the devastating earthquakes which struck southern and central Türkiye and parts of northern Syria on 6 February 2023.
The first earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale occurred 34 kilometres west of the city of Gaziantep at 04:17 local time, followed by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake which struck four kilometres north–northeast of Elbistan in Kahramanmaraş Province some nine hours later.
As of February 10, more than 22,000 people have been killed and tens of thousands injured or left exposed to freezing temperatures in the aftermath.
It is one of the most devastating natural disasters to occur anywhere in the world in recent times, directly affecting more than 13.5 million people and damaging four million buildings. An estimated 12,141 buildings collapsed across ten provinces, with many apartment blocks collapsing when the residents were inside and asleep at the time of the first earthquake.
“Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this terrible tragedy,” said Octapharma Chairman and CEO Wolfgang Marguerre. “We are immediately shipping critical medical supplies to the region and will continue to monitor the situation and to do what we can to support rescue and rehabilitation efforts.”
Joining the global rescue effort
On February 9, the first truck loaded with Human Albumin 20%, Octaplex and Atenativ left the Octapharma logistics centre in Dessau en route to Ankara, where it will be distributed as needed by the Ministry of Health of Türkiye.
“Our logistics and support teams are moving quickly to ensure that healthcare workers in the region have the plasma products and supplies needed to treat the many trauma victims on the ground,” said Tobias Marguerre.