What is plasma
Plasma is the part of your blood that carries platelets, red blood cells and white blood cells around the body.
Plasma makes up approximately 55% of your blood, and contains antibodies, known as immunoglobulins, which fight infection.
These antibodies are made into medicines to help people with rare diseases, immune disorders and genetic conditions.
By giving plasma you could help build a person's antibodies, help to heal burns, protect pregnancies, and help babies' hearts to continue to beat.
What is plasma?
Plasma medicines saved Lauren and her daughter Evie
In this video plasma recipient Lauren meets Carreen, a regular plasma donor.
When Lauren was 4 months pregnant, she developed a condition called ITP (Immune Thrombocytopenia).
The condition passed to Lauren's daughter Evie when she was born.
ITP reduces the number of platelets in your blood, meaning your blood doesn't clot as it should.
Both Lauren and Evie received medicines made from plasma, which helped to save their lives.
Until recently England has relied solely on imports of plasma for medicines from other countries.
Thanks to plasma donors, England is becoming more self-sufficient at producing plasma treatments.
The community of plasma donors is growing and we’re always looking for new donors.
Donating plasma is safe and easy and is similar to donating blood. Find out what happens when you donate plasma.
There are 3 plasma donor centres to choose from. Find your nearest donor centre.
We also collect some plasma by separating it out from blood donations.
I can afford to give my plasma to someone in need, it’s my way of sharing a bit of happiness. The team at the centre are lovely, they feed me chocolate!
Veronika Royle donates plasma in Reading.
