International Plasma Awareness Week - Pere Soler-Palacín MD, PhD
In honor of International Plasma Awareness Week, we are excited to share our recent interview with the Director of the Jeffrey Modell Diagnostic and Research Center in Barcelona, Spain, Pere Soler-Palacín MD, PhD.
Dr. Soler- Palacín is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases & Immunodeficiencies at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and Vall d'Hebron Hospital. He has been working as an expert pediatrician for over two decades. In 2020, Dr. Soler- Palacín led the efforts to establish the Jeffrey Modell Infusion Center in Barcelona. Without his constant efforts, care, and dedication to patients, the center would not be where it is today. We hope you enjoy learning from our colleague and friend!
- How has opening the JMF infusion center changed your practice?
Opening the JMF Infusion Center made it possible to improve the facilities where we care for patients with an IEI who receive immunoglobulin replacement therapy. Now we have larger and more humanized spaces in which we can offer personalized and multidisciplinary attention to patients and their families.
- How does the JMF Infusion Center support patients living with PI?
Here in the Barcelona JMF Infusion Center we not only treat our patients with IVIG, but also offer them and their families personalized care by our nurses, psychologists, social care workers and immunologists. As part of our “I have a PID but I’m not alone” campaign, we promote their wellbeing and quality of life.
- Is there any advice you’d like to offer patients and families who must undergo Ig therapy?
I would ask them to be active in the decision about the treatment modality. We, physicians and nurses, show them all the possibilities but it is their own decision to choose the most appropriate one. Immunoglobulin replacement therapy must be adapted to patients and family’s life, not the other way around.
- What do you wish potential plasma donors knew about the donation process?
I do really encourage everyone to become a plasma donor. It is an easy procedure that does not take more than one hour and can be lifesaving. Some people need immunoglobulins and other plasma-derived products to live, and it is in our hands to help them. Please donate plasma!