[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 22 (Tuesday, February 5, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E129]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                    IN APPRECIATION OF PLASMA DONORS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN GARAMENDI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 5, 2019

  Mr. GARAMENDI. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 
importance of donating plasma and to applaud those individuals that 
make the commitment to be a plasma donor.
   Many Americans are impacted by rare, serious, and sometimes life-
threatening medical conditions that are effectively managed by 
therapies derived from donated plasma. Patients affected by alpha-1 
antitrypsin deficiency, chronic inflammatory demyelinating 
polyneuropathy, hemophilia, hereditary angioedema, platelet disorders, 
primary immunodeficiency diseases, as well as other communities rely on 
plasma-derived therapies. For many of these patients, plasma-derived 
therapies represent life-sustaining or life-improving medicine that is 
only available and accessible as a result of plasma donors. Moreover, 
these therapies represent the cutting-edge of medicine and it often 
takes dozens of donations to prepare one course of treatment for a 
single patient.
   These communities are collectively represented by the American 
Plasma Users Coalition, which works on policy issues to protect the 
safety of plasma donors and plasma products, and to ensure an adequate 
supply of plasma donations to meet the medical needs of patients. As 
science advances and we are better able to diagnose these conditions 
and treat additional conditions due to breakthroughs with plasma-
derived therapies, we will need more Americans to make the important 
choice to donate plasma to ensure all patients continue to have access 
to essential treatments.
   Many of us have already made the commitment to be either an 
occasional or regular plasma donor. Often times, this decision stems 
from knowing a patient who relies on plasma-derived therapies and 
understanding the tremendous impact a simple donation has on their 
health and the well-being of their family. Plasma donors come from all 
walks-of-life and all backgrounds, but to the patient community they 
are everyday heroes.
   Madam Speaker, let us recognize the contributions of plasma donors 
while calling attention to the importance of plasma donation.

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