Patients with this Pediatric Disease Depend on Plasma Donation Kawasaki disease is an uncommon illness that typically affects children between the ages of two and five and is a leading cause of acquired heart disease in children in the United States according to the American Heart Association (AHA). Kawasaki disease is treated with intravenous immune globulin (IVIG), a plasma-derived therapy that replaces vital missing antibodies in a person’s plasma and that is manufactured by member companies of the Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association (PPTA).  Read More

ANNAPOLIS, MD—December 23, 2008—Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency is a genetic form of emphysema, a debilitating, chronic lung disease in which an individual is missing a vital protein produced by the liver. Patients with alpha-1 are treated with alpha-1 proteinase inhibitor (A1PI), a therapy that replaces that missing protein and that is manufactured by member companies of the Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association (PPTA). A1PI is produced from plasma donated by healthy, committed donors across the country. Plasma is the straw-colored, liquid portion of whole blood that remains when red blood cells, platelets and other cellular components are removed. Plasma is rich in proteins needed to clot blood, fight infection and ensure proper lung function.  Read More

The Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association (PPTA) condemns the attacks on the welfare of patients, the dignity of plasma donors and the authority of regulatory authorities expressed in the statement entitled “Self Sufficiency in Safe Blood in Europe,” by the Federation Internationalle Organisations de Donneurs de Sang (FIODS).  Read More