International Plasma Awareness Week
International Plasma Awareness Week
This annual event is held from 5th -9th October. International Plasma Awareness Week (IPAW) is an event to raise global awareness about plasma collection, recognising the contribution of plasma donors, and to increase understanding of plasma protein therapies and rare diseases.
Plasma is the straw-coloured liquid part of the blood that carries cells, nutrients, hormones, and proteins throughout the body.
Plasma contains proteins necessary for the human body to carry out critical functions in the human body, such as creating antibodies to fight diseases and clotting factors to regulate bleeding. If a person has insufficient levels of any one plasma protein, his/her body cannot carry out these vital functions, causing a variety of chronic and life-threatening medical conditions. (IPAW).
The source material for most plasma protein therapies is human plasma.
The theme for this year is #PlasmaPowersPossibility. Patients around the world rely on plasma-derived medicines and IPAW is about the value of plasma donation.
You can get involved by finding out if you can become a plasma donor.
For more information go to #IPAW2026
