[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 167 (Tuesday, October 9, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1386-E1387]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            RECOGNIZING INTERNATIONAL PLASMA AWARENESS WEEK

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DORIS O. MATSUI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 9, 2018

  Ms. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, ``How is Your Day?'' For all of us, this is 
an ordinary question we ask others--and are asked by others--every day. 
But for so many people

[[Page E1387]]

around the world living with rare diseases and who rely on the 
availability of plasma protein therapies, no day is ordinary.
  On October 8 to 12, 2018, across the United States and throughout the 
world, patients, plasma donors and plasma collection centers will join 
together to observe International Plasma Awareness Week (IPAW). There 
will be events to raise global awareness of the crucial need for plasma 
to create lifesaving therapies, recognize that plasma donors contribute 
greatly in saving and improving lives, and increase understanding of 
the many rare diseases and plasma protein therapies that help to treat 
them.
  Plasma-derived therapies and recombinant blood clotting factors, 
collectively known as plasma protein therapies, are unique, biologic 
medicines that are either infused or injected to treat a variety of 
rare, life-threatening, chronic, and genetic diseases including 
bleeding disorders, hereditary angioedema, immune deficiencies, 
pulmonary disorders, neurological disorders, shock and trauma, liver 
cirrhosis, and infectious diseases such as tetanus, hepatitis, and 
rabies.
  Plasma-derived therapies save and improve lives of individuals 
throughout the world, including in emergency and surgical medicine. 
Plasma protein therapies have significantly improved the quality of 
life, markedly improved patient outcomes, and extended the life 
expectancy of individuals with rare, chronic diseases and conditions.
  Healthy, committed donors provide the plasma essential to manufacture 
these lifesaving therapies; and there are now approximately 700 plasma 
collection centers in the U.S. that have demonstrated their commitment 
to plasma donor and patient safety and quality by earning International 
Quality Plasma Program (IQPP) certification.
  I ask that my colleagues in the House of Representatives join me and 
rise in commemoration of International Plasma Awareness Week, honoring 
those committed donors and collection centers who make and collect 
needed and lifesaving contributions.

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