[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 169 (Tuesday, September 28, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1039]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         IN RECOGNITION OF INTERNATIONAL PLASMA AWARENESS WEEK

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DORIS O. MATSUI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 28, 2021

  Ms. MATSUI. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of patients across 
the United States and around the world who rely upon medicines made 
from donated plasma. October 4-8 is International Plasma Awareness Week 
(IPAW) and this year, 2021, has seen a continuation of the urgent need 
for more plasma donations during this difficult pandemic so that 
patients with rare diseases can be assured of receiving their 
treatments. This week, patients, plasma donors, and plasma collection 
centers will join together to observe IPAW via a range of events 
seeking to raise global awareness of the crucial need for plasma to 
create life-saving 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, and infectious diseases 
such as tetanus, hepatitis, and rabies. Nearly 125,000 people in the 
U.S. who live with these rare diseases, as well as countless others 
facing trauma and emergency medical needs every day, rely on plasma 
protein therapies that are only available because of the commitment of 
dedicated plasma donors.
  Plasma protein therapies have significantly improved the quality of 
life, markedly improved patient outcomes, and extended the life 
expectancy of men, women, and children in every community across the 
country. Healthy, committed donors provide the plasma essential to 
manufacture these lifesaving therapies, and there are now almost 1,000 
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.

                          ____________________