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David McIntosh: 900 Plasma Donations One Patient One Lifeline

David McIntosh/LinkedIn

Oct 4, 2026, 06:12

David McIntosh: 900 Plasma Donations One Patient One Lifeline

David McIntosh, Founder and Chair of United Plasma Action, shared Lisa Sideris’s post on LinkedIn:

“This post is a striking reminder of how important Alpha 1 Antitripsin is for the patients who need it.

Made from precious human plasma donations, Alpha 1 has no effective alternatives or substitutes and yet is NOT always given the policy priority that it deserves.

Attention please, all Health Authorities and Regulators.”

Lisa Sideris, Alpha-1 Patient Advocate and Rare Disease Speaker at Alpha-1 Foundation, shared a post on LinkedIn:

“900.

That’s the exact number of plasma donations it takes each year to provide the therapy needed to keep just one Alpha 1 patient alive and breathing.

I shared that statistic on Capitol Hill this week with the Congressional Plasma Caucus, alongside the Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association (PPTA) .

The room went silent.

Before I was diagnosed with Alpha 1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, a rare genetic disease that affects the lungs and liver, my reality looked like this:

3 years searching for answers
7 to 10 different specialists
A portion of my left lung removed completely unnecessarily

Today, plasma derived therapies remain essential and while we work toward new treatments, we must make sure patients who rely on plasma today continue to have access to the therapies they need.

No donors mean no treatment. Its really that simple.

To everyone who has ever sat in a chair to donate plasma: thank you.

You aren’t just a donor.

You’re someone’s 900.” David McIntosh: 900 Plasma Donations One Patient One Lifeline