Recognizing International Plasma Awareness Week

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, today, I recognize International Plasma Awareness Week (IPAW) from October 7-11 and celebrate the three million plasma donors whose gift saves the lives of more than 120,000 Americans with rare diseases. Plasma protein therapies, including recombinant analogs and plasma-derived therapies, increase life expectancy, improve quality of life, and reduce life-threatening complications for people living with rare, life-threatening, chronic, and genetic diseases.

Plasma--the straw-colored, liquid portion of blood--contains proteins necessary for carrying out critical functions in the human body. For example, immunoglobulins also known as antibodies defend your body from infections and fight disease, and clotting factors regulate bleeding. If a person has insufficient levels of any one plasma protein, their body cannot carry out these vital functions, causing a variety of chronic and life-threatening medical conditions.

Many people living with rare, life-threatening, chronic, and genetic diseases, like primary immunodeficiency, neurological disorders, hereditary angioedema, pulmonary disorders, bleeding disorders, and infectious diseases such as tetanus, hepatitis, and rabies, rely on plasma-derived treatments. Unlike traditional pharmaceuticals, plasma protein therapies cannot be synthesized in a laboratory. Plasma and its lifesaving proteins can only be obtained via human plasma from a donor.

As the co-chair of the Congressional Rare Disease Caucus, I understand how critical plasma donors and donation centers are in saving the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans with rare diseases. This is why in 2020, I introduced the Continuing Access to In-Home IVIG Act which extends and expands access to Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) treatment administered in the home for Medicare patients with primary immunodeficiency diseases. This was subsequently included in the 2021 government funding package and enacted into law. More recently, I introduced the PI Post Acute Access Act, which would expand IVIG treatment access to Medicare beneficiaries with primary immunodeficiencies living in skilled nursing facilities.

Without plasma donors who make more than 47 million plasma donations annually at over 1,100 International Quality Plasma Program (IQPP) certified plasma collection centers, countless patients would be unable to access these lifesaving therapies. That's why International Plasma Awareness Week is held annually each October to raise global awareness about source plasma collection, recognize the valued contributions of donors, and increase understanding about plasma protein therapies and the rare diseases they treat.

I invite my colleagues to join me in celebrating International Plasma Awareness Week (IPAW) and recognizing plasma donors and donation centers for their heroic and lifesaving contributions.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source