Donating blood plasma is a simple act that allows many people to be treated for different pathologies. How often can it be done? Who benefits?
Transfusion of blood plasma is a technique that has gained a lot of strength in recent years. Plasma is one of the parts of blood. Specifically, it is the clear, slightly yellowish liquid that does not contain blood cells.
Plasma is almost 55% of the total volume of our blood. The other part is made up of cells like red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Many proteins are found in this liquid, such as albumin, which perform very important functions for our body.
Although many people are unaware of it, plasma transfusion allows treating numerous pathologies, such as bleeding or burns.
What is blood plasma?
Plasma is the liquid part of the blood. In it are suspended the blood cells, that is, the red blood cells, the white blood cells and the platelets. When the two parts are separated, the plasma looks like a clear liquid.
Plasma is made up of almost 90% water. However, the rest of its composition is a mixture of proteins and mineral salts that are essential for the body to function properly.
First, it contains immunoglobulins. They are an element of the immune system that allows us to defend ourselves against infections. In addition, we find albumin in it. It is a molecule that is responsible for transporting certain substances to the tissues.
Similarly, it is important to note that clotting factors are found in plasma. These factors are what allow clot formation to start when there is bleeding somewhere in the body.
How is a plasma transfusion performed?
Plasma transfusion is actually a simple procedure. First, there needs to be a donor. It must be an altruistic and selfless act. What is done is to extract blood from the donor, in a process that lasts between 30 and 45 minutes.
After the blood is drawn, the blood cells are separated from the plasma. The liquid is preserved and stored. When it comes to a plasma-only donation, it's called plasmapheresis.
The latter differs from blood donation in that the removed cells are reintroduced and only the plasma is retained. In addition, the recovery is shorter and a donation can be made every fortnight.
It is important to note that to perform a plasma transfusion the donor and recipient must have the same blood group. This is because in plasma we also find proteins that can cause a rejection reaction.
What is it for?
Plasma transfusion is used as a treatment in many situations. For example, when someone has been burned or has a serious accident, plasma transfusion helps to regain lost blood volume.
In addition, since clotting factors are found in this liquid, this technique allows bleeding to be stopped faster. It is especially useful in those people who suffer from diseases such as hemophilia, caused by the lack of any of these factors.
It is also used in liver transplants. However, techniques have been developed in which, instead of introducing all the plasma, only the molecules that are needed are used. They are called blood products.
For example, in the case of hemophilia that we mentioned, you can already transfuse the clotting factor that person needs. Although plasma transfusion is a safe technique, it has more drawbacks than if it is only carried out from blood products.
What we must remember is that plasma transfusion is a simple technique that can save the lives of many people. Therefore, it is important that we all be aware that through a simple donation we are helping other people.
Very useful post for all of us, corona recovery people should have to donate their plasma for saving life. I written an article about plasma donation two days ago, please try to read this.