Plasma Information - Red Cross Blood Donation

Plasma is the liquid portion of blood. About 55% of our blood is plasma, and the remaining 45% are red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets that are ... Home PlasmaInformation ShareviaEmail ShareonFacebook ShareonTwitter Toggleothershareoptions ShareonLinkedIn Print TheImportanceOfPlasmaInBlood ABplasmacanbegiventopatientsofanybloodtype.However,typeABbloodisrareintheUnitedStates–onlyabout4%ofushaveit.ThatmeansmostAmericanscan’tmakethisimportantcontributionandweallrelyondonorswithABbloodtohelpdoctorscarefortraumapatients.ScheduleanABplasmadonationnow. DoyouhavetypeABblood?LearnaboutmakinganABEliteplasmadonation. LearnAllAboutPlasma Whatisplasmainblood? Plasmaistheliquidportionofblood.About55%ofourbloodisplasma,andtheremaining45%areredbloodcells,whitebloodcellsandplateletsthataresuspendedintheplasma. Plasmaisabout92%water.Italsocontains7%vitalproteinssuchasalbumin,gammaglobulinandanti-hemophilicfactor,and1%mineralsalts,sugars,fats,hormonesandvitamins. Plasmaservesfourimportantfunctionsinourbody: 1. Helpsmaintainbloodpressureandvolume. 2. Supplycriticalproteinsforbloodclottingandimmunity. 3. Carrieselectrolytessuchassodiumandpotassiumtoourmuscles. 4. HelpstomaintainaproperpHbalanceinthebody,whichsupportscellfunction. Whatisbloodplasmausedfor? Plasmaiscommonlygiventotrauma,burnandshockpatients,aswellaspeoplewithsevereliverdiseaseormultipleclottingfactordeficiencies.Ithelpsboostthepatient’sbloodvolume,whichcanpreventshock,andhelpswithbloodclotting.Pharmaceuticalcompaniesuseplasmatomaketreatmentsforconditionssuchasimmunedeficienciesandbleedingdisorders. Whatisaplasmadonation? Inaplasma-onlydonation,theliquidportionofthedonor’sbloodisseparatedfromthecells.Bloodisdrawnfromonearmandsentthroughahigh-techmachinethatcollectstheplasma.Thedonor’sredbloodcellsandplateletsarethenreturnedtothedonoralongwithsomesaline.Theprocessissafeandonlytakesafewminuteslongerthandonatingwholeblood. Donatedplasmaisfrozenwithin24hoursofbeingdonatedtopreserveitsvaluableclottingfactors.Itcanbestoredforuptooneyearandthawedfortransfusiontoapatientwhenneeded.RedCrossdonationsareoftenuseddirectlyforhospitalpatienttransfusions,ratherthanpharmaceuticaluses. Whoshoulddonateplasma? TheRedCrossurgespeoplewithtypeABbloodtoconsideraplasmadonation.ABistheonlyuniversal plasma andcanbegiventopatientsofanybloodtype.ThismeansthattypeABplasmatransfusionscanbegivenimmediately,withoutlosingprecioustimedeterminingifthepatient’sbloodtypeiscompatible.Inemergencymedicine,suchascaringforamajortraumaorburnpatient,timesavedcanmeanthedifferencebetweenlifeanddeath. TypeABplasmadonations–whichtheRedCrosscalls“ABElite”–canbemadeevery28days,upto13timesperyear.Theaveragedonationtakesonehourand15minutes,justafewminuteslongerthandonatingwholeblood.Scheduleanappointmentnow. PlayVideo LearnMoreAboutBloodComponents Platelets LearnMore Plasma LearnMore RedBloodCells LearnMore Cryoprecipitate LearnMore WholeBlood LearnMore Hematocrit LearnMore WhiteBloodCells LearnMore HowtoScheduleanAppointment Online ScheduleNow CallUs 1-800-REDCROSS