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A Big Thank You to Blood & Plasma Donors
The IN Group (The Inflammatory Neuropathy Support Group of Victoria Inc.) gratefully thanks the many Blood and Plasma Donors to the Australian Red Cross Blood Service. Much of their generous donations are processed by CSL Limited to become Gammaglobulin (trade name "Intragam"). Intragam is a vital prescription for the treatment of the peripheral neuropathies of acute Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) and Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP).
By such treatment many members of The IN Group who are diagnosed with GBS or CIDP recover sufficiently to live a fairly normal existence instead of ending up needing much care either from family, friends or hospitals, often in wheelchairs; some even lose their lives.
Prominent people who have suffered from these auto-immune disorders include novelist Joseph Heller (who wrote a book about his experience "No Laughing Matter"), AFL footballer Graham Wright, and Test cricketer Jason Gillespie. Young engineering honours graduate Michelle Hughes has been featured by the Australian Red Cross Blood Service as a grateful recipient of Intragam.
Currently there is not enough Intragram to meet the demand, a shortfall of some 20%. The IN Group repeats its urgent request to the Federal Government to provide the extra $14 million needed to overcome this shortfall as recommended by the Working Committee of the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council (AHMAC).
So The IN Group celebrates GBS/CIDP Awareness Day 1st June 2002 by whole-heartedly thanking all the blood and plasma donors to the Australian Red Cross Blood Service.
James Gerrand
Director, The IN Group
138B Princess Street KEW VIC 3101
tel 9853 6443 fax 9853 4150