What is plasma used for?

Patients often only need a specific part of the blood, such as plasma. In these cases, your plasma can be administered. But plasma is also used to make important medicines.

Proteins; clotting factors and more

The proteins in plasma are used to produce medicines, such as clotting factors. The blood of people with a bleeding disorder such as haemophilia does not clot properly, because some of these proteins are missing in their blood.
This may result in spontaneous bleeding, sometimes with severe consequences. These medicines allow them to lead almost normal lives.

There are several proteins in plasma that are used as medicines that are extremely important for patients. The most important are:

Albumin; is used in some surgical procedures and in patients with severe burns

Protease inhibitors; are used in the treatment of certain genetic blood disorders

Antibodies

Antibodies in plasma are produced in healthy people after infection with a pathogen or a vaccination. These antibodies can be extracted from the plasma and used in the treatment of diseases such as hepatitis A and B (jaundice) and tetanus.