Australian Red Cross Lifeblood and Michael Klim team up for plasma recipients.
It’s been 3 years since I was first diagnosed with CIDP and while this disorder has presented me with my fair share of challenges, I’ve always had the support I need. With the help of Australian Red Cross Lifeblood and their selfless donors I’m able to receive the medical treatment I need to live my life to the fullest – but I’m not the only one.
To help raise awareness for the countless Australians who rely on plasma-based treatments and the growing demand for plasma donations, I’m proud to announce my partnership with Australian Red Cross Lifeblood. Together, we’re raising the visibility of this life-changing donation and the incredible medical treatments it can be used to create.
(click image to watch campaign video)
How plasma helps me and thousands more...
Every 6 weeks, I receive a plasma-based medicine know as Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIg). The medication is packed with good antibodies from donors’ plasma that help fight the symptoms of CDIP. While the treatment is groundbreaking, it’s not easy to make. A single treatment can take up to 5 plasma donations of 32 whole blood donations to produce, and I’m just one recipient. Every month over 13,000 Australian’s receive IVIG.
How to get involved...
Over the coming months I’ll be appearing as a Lifeblood ambassador in their latest campaign, encouraging Aussies to roll up with sleeves and give, but I need your help. I’ve worked with Lifeblood to set up my very own Lifeblood donor team, Klim’s Champions and I’m looking for new recruits! Anyone can join and when you do, your donation will go towards providing medication for people like me, as well as countless other life-changing uses.
To join
- Go to https://www.lifeblood.com.au
- Log in to your account, or register if you don’t already have one. You don’t need to be a donor to register.
- Head to the 'Teams’ tab in the top right and click ‘My Teams’
- Search for ‘Klim’s Champions’ and join – easy!
Learn more about plasma
- Plasma contains antibodies, the body’s own little “ninja warriors”, that helps us fight infections and diseases.
- Plasma has now overtaken blood donations as the type of donation most needed by patients and hospitals in Australia.
- Plasma-derived medicines are used to treat more than 50 serious medical conditions.
- It is used in hospitals across Australia every day to treat trauma and bleeding, but it's also used to make life-saving medicine for patients with auto-immune diseases, cancer, haemophilia, kidney conditions and burns.
- In addition to the large number of medical conditions, plasma is also used to treat every Australian who has had a post-exposure tetanus injection or chicken pox injection.
- Every pregnant woman who receives an Anti-D injection is also a plasma recipient.
- Donating plasma is a lot like donating blood, and just as rewarding. The process is called ‘apheresis’, whereby a special machine draws blood from your arm and separates the blood out to collect the plasma, which is yellow in colour, while the remainder of the blood is returned to your body.
- Donating plasma means you give twice as much plasma as you would in a normal blood donation. And you can donate more often – as frequently as every two weeks. If you’re a whole blood donor, you can give plasma four weeks after your blood donation.