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                                                                   EXHIBIT 10.13

                                 FIRST AMENDMENT
                                     TO THE
                         RETRACTABLE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
                             1999 STOCK OPTION PLAN

     This First Amendment to the RETRACTABLE TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 1999 STOCK
OPTION PLAN (the "Plan") is authorized by Thomas J. Shaw and Douglas W. Cowan,
the Chairman and Member of the Compensation and Benefits Committee (the
"Committee") of Retractable Technologies, Inc. ("Retractable"), respectively.

                                    RECITALS

     WHEREAS, Section 4 of the Plan provides that the "...Plan shall be
administered by the Committee or, in the absence of Committee, by the Board."
Section 4 further provides that "(t)he interpretation and construction of any
provision of (the) Plan by the Committee shall be final, unless otherwise
determined by the Board"; and

     WHEREAS, Section 18 of the Plan provides that "(t)he Board of Directors may
discontinue the Plan and the Committee may amend the Plan from time to time...";
and

     WHEREAS, the stockholders have authorized increasing the maximum number of
shares of stock that may be optioned or sold under this Plan from 2 million to 4
million shares effective September 20, 2002; and

     WHEREAS, federal tax laws require that incentive stock options ("ISOs") be
issued to persons not deemed to be ten percent shareholders at an exercise price
that is no less than 100% of fair market value and to be issued to persons
deemed to be ten percent shareholders at no less than 110% of fair market value;
and

     WHEREAS, the Plan currently authorizes the issuance of options to persons
not deemed to be ten percent shareholders and persons deemed to be ten percent
shareholders, respectively, at exercise prices equal to 100% and 110% of fair
market value, respectively; and

     WHEREAS, the Committee determined effective as of September 30, 2002, that
the best interests of Retractable would be served by the amendment of the Plan
to authorize the issuance of ISOs to persons not deemed to be ten percent
shareholders at an option price at least equal to 100% of fair market value of
each share and to authorize the issuance of ISOs to persons deemed to be ten
percent shareholders at an option price at least equal to 110% of the fair
market value of each share; and

     WHEREAS, Section 711 of the American Stock Exchange Company Guide provides
an exception to shareholder approval "...as a prerequisite to approval of
applications to list additional shares reserved for options granted to officers,
directors, or key employees..." where "...such options are to be granted:
....(ii) under a plan or

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arrangement for officers, directors, or key employees provided such incentive
arrangements do not authorize the issuance of more than 5% of outstanding common
stock in any one year and provided that all arrangements adopted without
shareholder approval in any five-year period do not authorize, in the aggregate,
the issuance of more than 10% of such common stock. (For the purpose of
calculating the percentage of stock issued in the aggregate, stock to be issued
pursuant to options which have expired and/or been cancelled shall not be
included.)"; and

     WHEREAS, an amendment to authorize the issuance of ISOs at or above fair
market value does not require shareholder approval; now, therefore:

                                   AMENDMENTS

     1.   Section (3) of the Plan is hereby amended and restated in its
entirety, effective as of September 20, 2002, to read as follows:

          (3) STOCK TO BE OPTIONED; DESIGNATION OF INCENTIVE STOCK OPTIONS.
          Subject to the provisions of Section (11) of this Plan, the maximum
          number of shares of Stock that may be optioned or sold under this Plan
          is Four Million (4,000,000) shares, all of which may be designated as
          ISOs. The shares shall be either treasury or authorized but unissued
          shares of Stock of the Company. Options or portions of options granted
          under this Plan to key employees may, in the discretion of the
          Committee, be designated as ISOs or NQSOs. Options granted to
          non-employees must be NQSOs. In addition to any other term or
          provision of this Plan applicable to an ISO, any option designated as
          an ISO shall also be subject to the condition that the aggregate fair
          market value (determined at the time the options are granted) of the
          Company's Common Stock with respect to which incentive stock options
          are exercisable for the first time by any individual employee during
          any calendar year (under this Plan and all other similar plans of the
          Company and its subsidiaries hereafter adopted) shall not exceed One
          Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00).

     2.   Section (6) of the Plan is hereby amended and restated in its
entirety, effective as of September 30, 2002, to read as follows:

          (6) OPTION PRICE FOR ISOs AND NQSOs. For any Participant who is not
          deemed to be a Ten Percent (10%) Shareholder under the rules
          applicable to ISOs under 422 of the Code (a "10% Shareholder"), the
          Option Price for each share to be acquired pursuant to an ISO shall be
          at least One Hundred Percent (100%) of the fair market value of the
          share as determined by the Board of Common Stock on the date the ISO
          is granted. For any Participant who is deemed to be a 10% Shareholder
          under the rules applicable to ISOs under Section 422 of the Code, the
          Option Price for each share to be acquired pursuant to an ISO shall be
          at least One Hundred Ten Percent (110%) of the fair market value of
          the share. The

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          Option Price for any NQSO shall be as determined by the Board of
          Common Stock on the date the NQSO is granted. In addition, the Board
          shall include in any NQSO granted pursuant to this Plan a condition
          that, upon exercise of the NQSO and prior to the issuance of any stock
          certificate to the Participant, the Participant shall remit to the
          Company the amount, if any, of any federal, state, or local employment
          taxes required to be withheld upon exercise of the NQSO. The
          Participant may (i) make a direct payment to the Company to satisfy
          this obligation, (ii) increase withholding on his cash compensation on
          the date the NQSO is exercised, and/or (iii) use the procedure
          described in the following provisions of this Section (6). One (1)
          month prior to exercise of a NQSO, the Participant may deliver a
          notice of withholding election to the Company. The notice shall state
          that the Company is to (i) calculate the amount of withholding tax due
          as if all shares for which a NQSO is to be exercised were delivered,
          (ii) reduce that number of shares made available for delivery so that
          the fair market value of the shares withheld on the exercise date
          approximates the Company's withholding tax obligation, and (iii) pay
          the cash to the Internal Revenue Service and other applicable taxing
          authorities on the Participant's behalf instead. No withholding
          obligation shall be imposed by this Section (6) unless also imposed by
          applicable law.


  /s/ Thomas J. Shaw                          /s/ Douglas W. Cowan
--------------------------------------      ------------------------------------
Thomas J. Shaw, Chairman                    Douglas W. Cowan, Member
Compensation and Benefits Committee         Compensation and Benefits Committee

Executed this March 31, 2003, to reflect amendments to the 1999 Stock Option
Plan made in September, 2002.