Understanding primary immunodeficiency (PI)
Understanding PI
The more you understand about primary immunodeficiency (PI), the better you can live with the disease or support others in your life with PI. Learn more about PI, including the various diagnoses and treatment options.
Learn more about PI
Living with PI
Living with PI
Living with primary immunodeficiency (PI) can be challenging, but you’re not alone—many people with PI lead full and active lives. With the right support and resources, you can, too.
Learn more about living with PI
Get involved
Get involved
Be a hero for those with PI. Change lives by promoting primary immunodeficiency (PI) awareness and taking action in your community through advocacy, donating, volunteering, or fundraising.
Get involved today
Advancing research and clinical care
Advancing research and clinical care
Whether you’re a clinician, researcher, or an individual with primary immunodeficiency (PI), IDF has resources to help you advance the field. Get details on surveys, grants, and clinical trials.
View resource details

All about plasma

September 25, 2020

People living with a primary immunodeficiency, or PI are missing key parts of their immune system that help fight infections. Some types of PI leave people unable to make antibodies of their own. Many individuals living with PI rely on immunoglobulin replacement therapy (or Ig) to provide the antibodies that we don’t make on our own. Those antibodies are necessary to fight off bacteria and viruses. These replacement antibodies come from human plasma. This plasma is collected from volunteers and is used to make Ig and other plasma-derived therapies that are necessary to the survival of many living with PI as well as other rare diseases. We will be discussing the importance of plasma with Amy Efantis, the President & CEO of the Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association or PPTA, an organization representing more than 850 human plasma collection centers in North America and Europe.