Octapharma: Plasma Donation – Header Section Logo
Octapharma: Plasma Donation Center – Mobile Section Logo
  • About Plasma
    • What is Plasma?
    • Plasmagic
    • Donating Plasma FAQs
  • New Donors
    • Plasmagic
    • Earning Potential
    • Eligibility Requirements
    • Donor & Patient Stories
    • Donating Plasma FAQs
  • Return Donors
    • Resources
    • Refer a Friend
    • Donation Tips
    • Share Your Story
    • Donating Plasma FAQs
  • Donor Resources
    • OctaApp
    • OctaPass
    • Donor Portal
    • OctaRewards
  • Company
    • Our Vision
    • Leadership Team
    • Careers
    • News & Events
FIND A CENTER
FIND A CENTER
BACK TO OCTABLOG
News

Octapharma Plasma Center Leader and Her Mother Discover New Bond Through Plasma Therapy

Whenever Erika, an assistant manager at an Octapharma Plasma center, speaks with donors as they donate plasma, she shares her mother’s story to remind them of their life saving act.

“My mom is funny, sarcastic,” said Erika. “But when she gets sick, she is none of these things. She loses hope.”

In 2015, her mother, Guadalupe, began experiencing tingling in her hands. The sensation spread to her feet, arms, knees, and ultimately, a distinct numbness set in. Doctors began to search for the source of Guadalupe’s sudden health issues, and so began a long process of extensive bloodwork and testing.

As Erika helped her mother navigate the challenges of her mystery illness, she began working at Octapharma Plasma as a medical screener. She was eager to learn about plasma’s impact on patients’ lives and to support the development of plasma therapies.

Plasma is critically important to the medical community and its supply relies on human donations. The clear, golden-colored liquid helps treat patients who suffer from a variety of conditions. In her new role at Octapharma Plasma, it didn’t take long for Erika to realize that plasma therapies are in high demand and could one day impact those closest to her.

In 2016, Guadalupe was diagnosed with Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP), an autoimmune disorder impacting approximately 40,000 Americans. CIDP affects the peripheral nerves, causing weakness, numbness, and tingling in the limbs.

Erika remembers the day her mother became paralyzed, which happened shortly after her diagnosis. She and her family watched helplessly as her once independent mom lost any sense of movement. All hope for their mother’s health was shattered in a matter of hours.

Doctors quickly suggested plasma therapy as a viable treatment. This involved removing blood from the body, separating the plasma, and replacing it with donor plasma, which reduces the number of harmful antibodies in the body. The process meant several sessions of plasma exchange. Although it was time-consuming, Guadalupe was determined to see it through.

And as the treatment plan evolved, a beautiful connection between mother and daughter emerged.

One day, as Guadalupe was laying in her hospital bed receiving treatment, she noticed the box for her medication on her bedside table: Octapharma, the label read. She immediately recognized the brand as Erika’s employer and was awestruck. Her daughter had been directly involved in collecting the plasma needed to treat her rare condition. It was an unbelievable connection Erika describes as “fate.”

Erika watched her mother’s progress throughout therapy with a newfound sense of pride. She regained strength, mobility, and her familiar sassy, independent attitude. Guadalupe keeps the Octapharma boxes following each therapy session – a memento of pride for her daughter’s career.

Erika believes working within the plasma industry is her life’s calling. As she educates donors, she expresses gratitude, because for Erika, donors give her the greatest gift of all.

“To everyone who donates at Octapharma Plasma, thank you. You give me the gift of seeing my mother at her best.”

To give hope to families like Erika’s, visit your local Octapharma Plasma center and donate.

Related

Plasma medicine patient enjoys check up with doctor
Give Something Life Saving this Giving Tuesday
Each year, on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, millions of people around the globe participate in the generosity movement called Giving Tuesday. Started in 2012 to counteract the high volume of spendin
CONTINUE READING
Child patient waits patiently during plasma infusion process with nurse.
A Mother Calls on Her Community to Help Patients Like Her Son Amid a Plasma Shortage
“You never think something like this will happen to your child until it does, and with it, your world and your child’s world changes forever.”                             –
CONTINUE READING
How One Octapharma Plasma Employee’s Car Accident Propelled Her Into a Lifetime of Activism
“Without plasma, simply put, I would not be alive today.” – Elyse, Octapharma employee and powerlifting athlete (more…)
CONTINUE READING

Find Your Plasma Center

Octapharma: Plasma Center – Footer Logo
  • FIND A CENTER
  • Contact Us
  • Media
  • Careers
  • Octapharma AG

Copyright© 2023 Octapharma Plasma. All rights reserved.
Privacy. UnitedHealthcare Transparency in Coverage.

  • FIND A CENTER

Copyright© 2023 Octapharma Plasma. All rights reserved.
Privacy. UnitedHealthcare Transparency in Coverage.


Back To Top
Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}
Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}