Though mostly made of water, plasma also contains many important proteins that help transport nutrients, support the circulatory system, and fight infections. However, this complex liquid contains more than just basic building blocks. Within plasma lie concentrated components with immense medical value. Through specialized fractionation processes, various plasma derivatives can be safely separated and used to treat a wide range of serious health conditions. Let’s take a closer look at some of these critical blood plasma derivatives.
Immunoglobulins
Perhaps the most well-known plasma derivatives are immunoglobulins, also known as antibodies. These Y-shaped proteins are produced by specialized white blood cells called plasma cells in response to foreign pathogens like viruses and bacteria. There are five main classes of immunoglobulins - IgG, IgA, IgM, IgD, and IgE. The most abundant is IgG, making up around 75% of antibodies in plasma. Different types of immunoglobulins target specific microbes and help initiate various immune responses.
Through a process called plasma fractionation, concentrated doses of immunoglobulins can be obtained from large pools of donated plasma. These are then used to treat primary immunodeficiencies, where the body has trouble producing its own antibodies. Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) replacements provide patients with a ready supply of antibodies to fight infection. Immunoglobulin therapies are also prescribed for Kawasaki disease, certain neurological disorders, and as an experimental treatment for COVID-19.
Coagulation Factors
While immunoglobulins are an important part of the immune system, plasma also contains various clotting factors essential for stopping bleeding. These proteins naturally circulate in plasma and come together at the site of an injury. Factor deficiencies that impair clot formation can lead to serious bleeding disorders like hemophilia.
Plasma fractionation yields highly concentrated forms of specific clotting factors that can replace missing components. Products like Factor VIII, Factor IX, and von Willebrand factor are administered to hemophiliacs and others with bleeding disorders either after an injury or as ongoing prophylaxis. Without treatment using plasma-derived replacements, even minor cuts or bruises could lead to dangerous internal bleeding.
Albumin
One of the most abundant proteins in the body is albumin, which makes up about 50-65% of plasma content. This protein plays a role in maintaining proper fluid balance between blood vessels and tissues. It also serves as a transporter, binding to molecules like hormones, lipids, and medications to help carry them through circulation.
purified preparation of albumin is obtained through plasma fractionation. It is most commonly given intravenously to increase colloid osmotic pressure in conditions with low blood volume or albumin levels like liver disease. Albumin solutions can prevent edema and help redistribute fluid between compartments to maintain proper circulatory function. As a vehicle for drug transport, albumin is also used in some cancer chemotherapy protocols.
Plasma Protein Therapies
In addition to immunoglobulins, coagulation factors and albumin, modern fractionation techniques allow separation and concentration of several other plasma proteins for medical use. Alpha-1 proteinase inhibitor, for instance, works to regulate an enzyme implicated in lung damage from chronic diseases like emphysema. Its plasma derivative form is administered to replace missing inhibitor and slow pulmonary deterioration.
Plasma also contains anti-thrombotic proteins like antithrombin that help keep the blood from clotting too much. Deficiencies in these natural regulators can increase thrombosis risk, so plasma-derived antithrombin is prescribed prophylactically for certain at-risk patients. Growing research further explores new potential plasma proteins therapies for conditions such as neurological damage, wound healing impairments, and more.
Manufacturing Safeguards
Undoubtedly, life-saving plasma derivatives improve countless lives daily. But with Blood Plasma Derivatives products comes responsibility to ensure the highest safety standards. All plasma used for fractionation undergoes rigorous testing for transfusion transmissible infections like HIV, hepatitis and other viruses. Multiple viral inactivation and removal steps during processing aim to reach a very high safety margin.
Continual advances in technology and oversight also help strengthen plasma derivative manufacturing. From donor screening protocols to strict facility controls, a robust multi-layered quality system works to make plasma therapies as secure as they are effective. With new threats emerging like the recent COVID-19 pandemic, these safeguards remain paramount to maintaining confidence in our blood supply while maximizing patient benefit from plasma derivatives.
The numerous essential components within blood plasma demonstrate what a crucial fluid it is for health and healing. Through specialized separation techniques, concentrated plasma derivative forms allow targeted medical applications of these natural parts to treat a diverse array of serious conditions. With our greater understanding of plasma and improvements in fractionation comes expanding opportunities to help many who require its lifesaving factors. So long as manufacturing and donation practices emphasize safety as strongly as science, plasma therapies will continue empowering medicine for years to come.
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