Learn all about the power of plasma
The plasma donors selflessly give is used in a wide range of therapies that saves lives – the lives, most often, of total strangers. But do you know what is behind this unique and invaluable resource?
Learn all about the power of plasma
The plasma donors selflessly give is used in a wide range of therapies that saves lives – the lives, most often, of total strangers. But do you know what is behind this unique and invaluable resource?
What is plasma?
It is the liquid that carries blood cells in suspension around the body – red cells that carry oxygen; white cells that fight disease and help heal injury; and platelets that help stem bleeding. If you take those cells out of the plasma, you are left with a straw-colored liquid that is mostly water – about 92% – the rest of it is made up of small proteins and antibodies that are equally vital to life.
Plasma transports antibodies, clotting proteins, hormones, and enzymes; it carries nutrients (like sugars, fats, salts, minerals, etc.) to the body’s cells while removing waste products (like carbon dioxide, lactic acid, etc.). Plasma helps maintain blood pressure, as well as the acid-base balance in the body.
How is plasma taken from your body?
Most people know about donating whole blood, a painless procedure that takes only about ten minutes (in addition to the time for preparation and recovery). However, one can donate plasma, and only plasma, in a procedure called plasmapheresis, during which blood is drawn and passed through a high-tech machine that separates the plasma from the blood cells and platelets which are returned to the donor.
Plasmapheresis takes longer than donating whole blood – a little more than an hour – but there are important advantages. Plasma is replenished in the body much more quickly than blood cells. A plasma donor can donate as often as twice within a seven day period.
What is plasma used for
After collection, plasma is quickly frozen so it can be safely stored until it is separated into its various components in a process called fractionation. Kedrion has fractionation plants in Melville, New York, Bolognana, Italy, and Gödöllő, Hungary. The isolated proteins are refined and processed to create a number of plasma-derivative therapies – therapies based on clotting factors, albumin and immunoglobulin – that save lives and enhance the quality of life for people suffering from a range of rare conditions like hemophilia and immune deficiency disorders.
Plasma has vital components that can be used to create life-saving medication:
- Albumin: Human serum albumin is a protein made by your liver. It is the main protein in human blood plasma. It makes up around 50% of human plasma proteins. Albumin based medication is often used in surgical procedures to treat severe burn victims.
- Clotting factor: Coagulation factors are proteins that naturally control bleeding. This clotting factor can be used in medication to help people with bleeding disorders such as hemophilia.
- Protease inhibitors: These proteins control many physiological functions including blood coagulation, complement activation and aspects of the inflammatory response. They are key ingredients in antiretroviral drugs and can help people with genetic blood disorders.
- Antibodies: They are produced in healthy individuals after they have been exposed to a pathogen or been vaccinated. Antibodies can be taken from plasma and used in the treatment of different diseases such as hepatitis A and B and tetanus.
Why we need you
Plasma cannot be produced artificially. It is obtained only by the generous donation of healthy individuals for the eventual use of others in need.