PRISMS has joined forces with 30 million Americans and healthcare advocates around the world for Rare Disease Day on February 29th. Rare Disease Day is an annual awareness day dedicated to elevating public understanding of rare diseases and calling attention to the special challenges that “rare” persons encounter in their daily lives.

Rare Disease Day takes place every year on the last day of February (February 28 or February 29 in a leap year) – the rarest date on the calendar – to underscore the nature of rare diseases and what patients face. It was established in Europe in 2008 by EURORDIS, the organization representing rare disease patients in Europe, and is now observed in more than 80 nations. Rare Disease Day is sponsored in the U.S. by the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD), the largest and leading independent, nonprofit organization committed to the identification, treatment, and cure of rare diseases.

For more information about Rare Disease Day in the U.S., go to rarediseases.org/rare-disease-day/. For information about global activities, go to www.rarediseaseday.org. To search for information about rare diseases, visit NORD’s website, www.rarediseases.org.