A Romsey woman has thanked blood donors for donating their plasma, which is now being used to create "lifesaving" medicine.
Karen Long, 54, suffers from the rare Stiff Person Syndrome, an autoimmune disease that causes the muscles to tense up.
She relies on immunoglobulin, a medicine made from plasma, to help manage her condition.
Over the past three years, blood donors in Hampshire, including Southampton and Portsmouth, have supplied around 11,200 litres of plasma in total.
This is enough to make about 5,000 bottles of immunoglobulin, which could save or improve the lives of around 140 people over a year.
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Make-up artist Karen said she was "very thankful" to people who donate blood, explaining that it gives her "hope" as she battles her chronic condition.
"It gives me the chance to see my son flourish and see what a great man he can become," she said.
Karen receives immunoglobulin every four weeks at the Royal Hampshire Hospital in Winchester.
This marks the first time in 25 years that plasma is being used to make life-saving medicines for NHS patients, reducing reliance on imports.
The donor antibodies help her immune system temporarily regulate itself.
Karen explained that treatment has made "a massive difference".
"I was more mobile, I wasn’t as stiff, I wasn’t having spasms, just being able to do normal things like go out and meet friends," she said.
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Over the past three years, plasma from blood donors in Hampshire and across England has been stored up, and it has now been made into medicines through a weeks-long manufacturing process.
In Hampshire, more than 700 people receive immunoglobulin.
Dr Susan Walsh, the CEO of Immunodeficiency UK, said: “This is a historic moment – patients from Hampshire can now get lifesaving and life-improving immunoglobulin medicine made from the plasma of UK blood and plasma donors.
“Immunoglobulins recognise dangerous micro-organisms and help the immune cells to neutralise them. It’s a vital treatment for people with immune disorders."
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