Blood Plasma Facts
Plasma is one of several components in human blood, along with red and white blood cells and platelets. Plasma is yellow or straw-colored and is 90 percent water, with red and white blood cells suspended in it. Plasma accounts for about 55 percent of a person's blood volume, making it the largest component of blood. It is the only liquid component of blood, and because it is liquid, plasma is what allows blood to circulate throughout the body, making it essential to human life.
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Components
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Although plasma is 90 percent water, it also contains many other components, including salts, minerals, vitamins, hormones, blood-clotting factors and proteins. All these components are dissolved in the plasma and are carried through the body via the circulatory system.
Blood Transport
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Because plasma is the liquid part of blood, it is responsible for moving components of the blood, as well as hormones, vitamins and nutrients dissolved in the plasma, to other parts of the body where they are needed. For example, the nutrients and vitamins dissolved in plasma originated mostly in the intestinal tract. Additionally, the white and red blood cells that are critical to our survival would not be able to be transported and used throughout the body were it not for the plasma.
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Other Functions
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In addition to serving as the transportation medium of blood through the body, plasma plays an important role in the human immune system. The plasma helps carry immunoglobulins, an essential part of the immune system, from head to toe. Plasma is also necessary for blood clotting, because the clotting factors needed to stop bleeding are contained in it.
Donation
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People who meet certain criteria and pass medical exams and screenings can donate their plasma. The process is similar to donating blood. In plasma donation, whole blood is collected from a vein, typically in the arm. Devices then separate the plasma from other blood components, which are then returned to the donor through a process called plasmapheresis. In some cases, people donating plasma are financially compensated. U.S. regulations allow people to donate plasma twice in a seven-day period, but they must wait at least 48 hours between donations.
Uses
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Donated plasma is used in plasma protein therapies that can help treat people with a variety of medical conditions, including hemophilia, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, primary immunodeficiency, certain autoimmune disorders and certain neurological disorders. Plasma is also used to treat people with severe burns, hepatitis, genetic lung disorders, serious liver conditions, Rh incompatibility and immune system deficiencies, as well as patients in shock and who have received organ transplants.
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