Partnering with the EU Life+ programme: Making the world's first PVC-free blood bags

Primo Medico is a partner in the international PVC-free blood bag project, producing transparent medical tubing with zero tolerances - and entirely without PVC.



Primo Medico cleanroom quality
Primo Medico is a partner in the international PVC-free blood bag project

PVC is a plastic material with many benefits – it is cost-effective, easily workable and can be sued for an incredible amount of different products. 

In the medical sector, however, the use of PVC is on the decline as health authorities are encouraging the use of plastics without softening agents in medical equipment.

Blood bags are one of the remaining products in which PVC remains the material of choice, mostly because developing alternative materials and devising new production methods are costly endeavours.

Developing a new type of blood bag

Primo is a partner in a project with the aim to develop a viable and marketable blood bag entirely without PVC. 

The project’s main objective is to show that it is possible to produce a PVC-free blood bag that will fulfil all requirements and specifications, including CE-labelling.

Blood bags are complex products involving many types of plastics, and the demands for safety and non-contamination are of course extremely high. As a result, developing new materials for blood bags means bringing together experts from the plastics industry, medical experts, scientists and health care authorities.

And that is actually one of the objectives of the project – to demonstrate how producers and scientists can cooperate to disseminate knowledge and influence demand among medical professionals.

In charge of the tubing

As a full project partner, Primo Medico is in charge of the development of new materials and production methods for the tubes and pipes for blood bags. Most of the development takes place in our clean room production facility in Zory, Poland.

A private and public collaboration

The consortium behind the PVC-free blood bag project consists of both private companies and public bodies such as the Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm with financial support from the EU’s Life+ programme.

The consortium is still in the process of developing prototypes for testing, and after a hopefully successful evaluation, we hope to see the final product released before long. 

You can read much more about the PVC-free blood bag project on the
project website

Primo is presenting its medical tubes at Medtec
PVC free blood bag medical equipment

Om Primo 

Den danska koncernen har sitt huvudkontor i Köpenhamn och har försäljnings- och produktionsverksamhet på 11 platser i Europa och Kina. Koncernen har för närvarande 980 anställda och en omsättning på 174 miljoner euro (per 31.12.2023). Företaget grundades och ägs av familjen Grunnet och har sedan starten 1959 specialiserat sig på att designa och producera kundspecifika profillösningar i plast.