ANNAPOLIS, Md., Sept. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — This month,
Floridians are recognizing “Plasma Protein Therapies Month,” by
raising awareness for the valuable contributions of plasma donors
throughout the “Sunshine State” and for the rare, genetic diseases
treated with the therapies that are made possible through plasma
donation.
Plasma protein therapies, which include plasma-derived therapies
and recombinant blood clotting factors (a biotechnology product),
are used every day to treat people with bleeding disorders, such as
hemophilia, that causes painful internal bleeding and debilitating
joint damage; primary immunodeficiency diseases, which prevent a
person from fighting off even common infections; and alpha-1
antitrypsin deficiency, also known as genetic chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (COPD), a disease that severely damages the liver
and lungs. In addition, a plasma protein therapy, albumin, is used
in critical care settings, when treating severe trauma, burns and
during major surgery.
“It has given Dominik a normal childhood,” said Kim Culver of
her 10-year-old son who has a primary immune deficiency (PID) and
who injects a plasma protein therapy, immune globulin, regularly
from home. The Fort Myers mother says, “I can’t describe the
difference from before he was taking the therapy and after.” Kim
describes a life spent in doctors’ offices, hospitals and traveling
to specialists for four years before Dominik was diagnosed. Now Kim
says he lives a happy, normal life and is pursuing a black belt in
Tae Kwon Do, something that seemed unthinkable just a few years
ago. Not only does Dominik have a PID, but also he has been
diagnosed with von Willebrand disease, an inherited bleeding
disorder that affects the body’s ability to clot and that requires
a different type of plasma protein therapy to treat. Kim routinely
travels with her son three hours to a see a hematologist in Miami,
who has never seen a case like Dominik. Kim looks forward to
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