As Illinois residents mark International Plasma Awareness Week, new survey findings highlight wide public support for plasma donation and the lifesaving treatments that depend on it.
More than two-thirds of respondents to the Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association’s global survey reported a change in their health or the health of someone they care for within a few months of starting treatment with a plasma-derived medicine.
Donations help make medicines for people with immune deficiencies, bleeding disorders and other conditions.
Christy Savino of Elgin said for her, plasma-derived medicine is essential. Savino has common variable immunodeficiency, a disorder leaving the body with too few protective antibodies. She went untreated until the birth of her first child, when a health crisis sent her to intensive care. She stressed that plasma donors keep her and others alive.
"Plasma-derived therapy is from human plasma. That is the only treatment most of us receive that helps us navigate life and have any quality of life, much less life itself," Savino explained.
International Plasma Awareness Week highlights donors and the collection centers supplying plasma for lifesaving medicines. The therapies also support emergency and surgical care. Eligible Illinois residents can contact a local plasma center or the American Red Cross about screening, scheduling, and donating.
Savino currently receives an intravenous immunoglobulin treatment every four weeks. The therapy uses antibodies collected from donated plasma. She added it allows her to function, avoid dangerous infections, and care for her family.
"The demand for it will always be there. My condition, I require 130 donations, one person, one year for treatment, and that is hundreds of thousands of people around the world. That's just one condition," Savino outlined.
Her husband, Antonio, donates plasma once or twice a week. He said the process is safe and usually takes 45 minutes to an hour. The couple lives in Elgin with their four children. Savino emphasized that there are multiple locations in most cities where people can donate and often be paid for their plasma.
"Millions around the world are incredibly grateful for the ability of people to give this invincible part of themselves. It's a superpower worth sharing, and it is a superpower worth celebrating," Savino underscored.
The survey also found that Americans broadly support compensating plasma donors and remain confident in medicines made from donated plasma. However, the results also reveal gaps in patient care, with nearly half of patients surveyed reporting delays in receiving a diagnosis or necessary treatment until their mid-adult years.
Illinois News Connection originally published this story.
