February 28th is Rare Disease Day!

Wednesday, February 28^th, is Rare Disease Day!

Now in its 11^th year, Rare Disease Day is an internationally recognized and observed by over 100 countries. The overall objective of the day is to raise awareness among the general public about rare diseases and their impact on patient’s lives.

In the US, a rare disease is defined as one that affects 200,000 or fewer Americans at any given time. 50% of rare diseases affect children. Although there are over 7,000 different rare diseases, there is something all have in common: a lack of information often means delays in diagnosis, treatment, and access to care. These “orphan diseases” often do not have the resources to individually fund research or raise awareness, so events connecting groups worldwide and providing recognition of the struggles of patients and their carers are especially important.

 

I was sitting around the dinner table talking about pharmaceutical therapies and orphan drug economics with some friends a few nights ago (because that’s the totally normal weekend thing for people to do, of course). I paused and asked, “hey wait, am I an orphan then?” “Yes!” my friend laughed. Disappointingly, I’m unable to participate in anything because I’m sick with a not-so-rare flu. Instead, enjoy this great playlist with me and #ShowYourRare!

 

https://open.spotify.com/embed/user/scarlettaeagle/playlist/0cdMQDMdqfYyy3tUdZgLLT