Blood plasma - wikipedia Blood plasma This article may be too technical for most readers to understand. Please help improve it to make it understandable to non-experts, without removing the technical details. ( May 2017 ) A unit of donated fresh plasma Blood plasma is a yellowish coloured liquid component of blood that normally holds the blood cells in whole blood in suspension ; this makes plasma the extracellular matrix of blood cells. It makes up about 55 % of the body 's total blood volume. It is the intravascular fluid part of extracellular fluid ( all body fluid outside cells ). It is mostly water ( up to 95 % by volume ), and contains dissolved proteins ( 6 -- 8 % ) ( i.e. -- serum albumins, globulins, and fibrinogen ), glucose, clotting factors, electrolytes ( Na, Ca, Mg, HCO, Cl, etc. ), hormones, carbon dioxide ( plasma being the main medium for excretory product transportation ) and oxygen. Plasma also serves as the protein reserve of the human body. It plays a vital role in an intravascular osmotic effect that keeps electrolytes in balanced form and protects the body from infection and other blood disorders. Blood plasma is separated from the blood by spinning a tube of fresh blood containing an anticoagulant in a centrifuge until the blood cells fall to the bottom of the tube. The blood plasma is then poured or drawn off. Blood plasma has a density of approximately 1025 kg / m, or 1.025 g / ml. Blood serum is blood plasma without clotting factors. Plasmapheresis is a medical therapy that involves blood plasma extraction, treatment, and reintegration. Fresh frozen plasma is on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, the most important medications needed in a basic health system. It is of critical importance in the treatment of many types of trauma which result in blood loss, and is therefore kept stocked universally in all medical facilities capable of treating trauma ( ex. trauma centers, hospitals, and ambulances ) or that pose a risk of patient blood loss such as surgical suite facilities. Contents 1 Composition 2 Volume 3 History 3.1 Blood for Britain 4 Plasma donation 4.1 United Kingdom 5 Synthetic blood plasma 6 See also 7 References 8 External links Composition Ion Normal concentration range ( mEq. L ) Sodium 135 -- 145 Potassium 3.6 -- 5.1 Chloride 95 -- 105 Calcium 2.0 Further information : Reference ranges for blood tests Reference ranges for blood tests, showing normal mass concentration of blood plasma constituents. The same information, shown in molarity rather than mass. Volume Blood plasma volume may be expanded by or drained to extravascular fluid when there are changes in Starling forces across capillary walls. For example, when blood pressure drops in circulatory shock, Starling forces drive fluid into the interstitium, causing third spacing. Standing still for a prolonged period will cause an increase in transcapillary hydrostatic pressure. As a result, approximately 12 % of blood plasma volume will cross into the extravascular compartment. This causes an increase in hematocrit, serum total protein, blood viscosity and, as a result of increased concentration of coagulation factors, it causes orthostatic hypercoagulability. History Private Roy W. Humphrey is being given blood plasma after he was wounded by shrapnel in Sicily in August 1943. Dried plasma packages used by the British and US militaries during WWII The use of blood plasma as a substitute for whole blood and for transfusion purposes was proposed in March 1918, in the correspondence columns of the British Medical Journal, by Gordon R. Ward. `` Dried plasmas '' in powder or strips of material format were developed and first used in World War II. Prior to the United States ' involvement in the war, liquid plasma and whole blood were used. Blood for Britain The `` Blood for Britain '' program during the early 1940s was quite successful ( and popular in the United States ) based on Charles Drew 's contribution. A large project began in August 1940 to collect blood in New York City hospitals for the export of plasma to Britain. Drew was appointed medical supervisor of the `` Plasma for Britain '' project. His notable contribution at this time was to transform the test tube methods of many blood researchers into the first successful mass production techniques. Nevertheless, the decision was made to develop a dried plasma package for the armed forces as it would reduce breakage and make the transportation, packaging, and storage much simpler. The resulting dried plasma package came in two tin cans containing 400 cc bottles. One bottle contained enough distilled water to reconstitute the dried plasma contained within the other bottle. In about three minutes, the plasma would be ready to use and could stay fresh for around four hours. The Blood for Britain program operated successfully for five months, with total collections of almost 15,000 people donating blood, and with over 5,500 vials of blood plasma. Following the `` Plasma for Britain '' invention, Drew was named director of the Red Cross blood bank and assistant director of the National Research Council, in charge of blood collection for the United States Army and Navy. Drew argued against the armed forces directive that blood / plasma was to be separated by the race of the donor. Drew insisted that there was no racial difference in human blood and that the policy would lead to needless deaths as soldiers and sailors were required to wait for `` same race '' blood. By the end of the war the American Red Cross had provided enough blood for over six million plasma packages. Most of the surplus plasma was returned to the United States for civilian use. Serum albumin replaced dried plasma for combat use during the Korean War. Plasma donation Plasma as a blood product prepared from blood donations is used in blood transfusions, typically as fresh frozen plasma ( FFP ) or plasma Frozen Within 24 Hours After Phlebotomy ( PF24 ). When donating whole blood or packed red blood cell ( PRBC ) transfusions, O - is the most desirable and is considered a `` universal donor, '' since it has neither A nor B antigens and can be safely transfused to most recipients. Type AB+ is the `` universal recipient '' type for PRBC donations. However, for plasma the situation is somewhat reversed. Blood donation centers will sometimes collect only plasma from AB donors through apheresis, as their plasma does not contain the antibodies that may cross react with recipient antigens. As such, AB is often considered the `` universal donor '' for plasma. Special programs exist just to cater to the male AB plasma donor, because of concerns about transfusion related acute lung injury ( TRALI ) and female donors who may have higher leukocyte antibodies. However, some studies show an increased risk of TRALI despite increased leukocyte antibodies in women who have been pregnant. United Kingdom Following fears of variant Creutzfeldt - Jakob disease ( vCJD ) being spread through the blood supply, the British government began to import American plasma to meet its needs. In 2002, it purchased Life Resources Incorporated to be able to secure plasma supply from the United States. The company became Plasma Resources UK ( PRUK ). It owned Bio Products Laboratory. In 2013, the British government sold an 80 % stake in PRUK to American hedge fund Bain Capital, in a deal estimated to be worth £ 230 million. The sale was met with criticism in the UK, over both the oversight of the company, and the impact on British blood needs. Confusion arose as some thought that the blood of British blood donors voluntarily donating to NHS Blood and Transplant Services would be sold for profit. Currently, plasma donated in the United Kingdom is still not used due to concerns about vCJD, and is incinerated after component parts have been separated from it. Synthetic blood plasma Simulated body fluid ( SBF ) is a solution having a similar ion concentration to that of human blood plasma. SBF is normally used for the surface modification of metallic implants, and more recently in gene delivery application. See also Blood plasma fractionation Chromatography in blood processing Hypoxia preconditioned plasma References Jump up ^ Dennis O'Neil ( 1999 ). `` Blood Components ''. Palomar College. Archived from the original on June 5, 2013. Jump up ^ Tuskegee University ( May 29, 2013 ). `` Chapter 9 Blood ''. tuskegee.edu. Archived from the original on December 28, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Ways to Keep Your Blood Plasma Healthy ''. Retrieved November 10, 2011. ^ Jump up to : Maton, Anthea ; Jean Hopkins ; Charles William McLaughlin ; Susan Johnson ; Maryanna Quon Warner ; David LaHart ; Jill D. Wright ( 1993 ). Human Biology and Health. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA : Prentice Hall. ISBN 0 - 13 - 981176 - 1. Jump up ^ The Physics Factbook -- Density of Blood Jump up ^ `` 19th WHO Model List of Essential Medicines ( April 2015 ) '' ( PDF ). WHO. April 2015. Retrieved May 10, 2015. Jump up ^ Masoud M, Sarig G, Brenner B, Jacob G ( June 2008 ). `` Orthostatic hypercoagulability : a novel physiological mechanism to activate the coagulation system ''. Hypertension. 51 ( 6 ) : 1545 -- 51. doi : 10.1161 / HYPERTENSIONAHA. 108.112003. PMID 18413485. Jump up ^ Transfusion before World War I Jump up ^ Plasma Equipment and Packaging, and Transfusion Equipment Jump up ^ Starr, Douglas P. ( 2000 ). Blood : An Epic History of Medicine and Commerce. New York : Quill. ISBN 0 - 688 - 17649 - 6. Jump up ^ Hirsch, Eric ( 1991 ). What Your 1st Grader Needs to Know : Fundamentals of a Good First - Grade Education. pp 232 -- 233. New York : Doubleday. Jump up ^ The Plasma Program Jump up ^ `` AB Plasma Donor Program ''. NIH Clinical Center. March 20, 2008. Retrieved 2011 - 03 - 18. Jump up ^ `` Female Plasma May Not Increase Risk for Transfusion - Related Acute Lung Injury ''. Medscape. October 23, 2007. Retrieved 2011 - 07 - 02. Jump up ^ `` UK buys ' safe ' blood supply for NHS ''. BBC News. December 17, 2002. Retrieved August 3, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Bain Capital buys stake in UK government blood company ''. BBC News. July 19, 2013. Retrieved 2014 - 08 - 16. ^ Jump up to : `` NHSBT reassures blood donors that Government 's sale of PRUK does not affect them ''. NHS Blood and Transplant Services. Jump up ^ Joint United Kingdom ( UK ) Blood Transfusion and Tissue Transplantation Services Professional Advisory Committee. `` Position Statement on Creutzfeldt -- Jakob Disease '' ( PDF ). transfusionguidelines.org.uk. Retrieved August 10, 2016. External links Blood plasma pioneer, English physician Gordon R. Ward Transfusion medicine General concepts Apheresis ( plasmapheresis, plateletpheresis, leukapheresis ) Blood transfusion Coombs test ( direct and indirect ) Cross-matching Exchange transfusion International Society of Blood Transfusion Intraoperative blood salvage ISBT 128 Transfusion reactions Blood group systems / blood types ABO Chido - Rodgers Colton Cromer Diego Dombrock Duffy Er FORS Gerbich GIL GLOB Hh Ii Indian JR JMH Kell ( Xk ) Kidd Knops Lan Lewis Lutheran LW MNS OK Raph Rh and RHAG Scianna T - Tn Vel Xg Yt Other Blood products / blood donation Whole blood Platelets Red blood cells Plasma / Fresh frozen plasma / PF24 ( Cryoprecipitate + Cryosupernatant ) Blood substitutes The main cell types in blood Myeloid Granulocytes CFU - G Band cell Neutrophil Basophil CFU - Baso Eosinophil CFU - Eos Mast cell CFU - Mast Monocytes Macrophages Histiocytes Kupffer cells Alveolar macrophage Microglia Osteoclasts Epithelioid cells giant cells Langhans giant cells, Foreign - body giant cell Touton giant cells Other Antigen presenting cells Dendritic cells Langerhans cell CFU - DL CFU - M MPS Platelets CFU - Meg Megakaryoblast Promegakaryocyte Megakaryocyte Red blood cells Reticulocyte Normoblast CFU - E Other Precursor cells CFU - GM Megakaryocyte -- erythroid progenitor cell CFU - GEMM Myelomonocyte Other Plasma Hematopoietic stem cell Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blood_plasma&oldid=832705457 '' Categories : Blood Blood products Body fluids Hematology Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from August 2017 Wikipedia articles that are too technical from May 2017 All articles that are too technical Articles needing expert attention from May 2017 All articles needing expert attention Talk Contents About Wikipedia Afrikaans বাংলা Беларуская Български Bosanski Català Čeština Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Gaeilge Galego 客家 語 / Hak - kâ - ngî 한국어 Հայերեն हिन्दी Hrvatski Ido Bahasa Indonesia Interlingua Íslenska Italiano עברית Basa Jawa ქართული Қазақша Kreyòl ayisyen Kurdî Latina Latviešu Lietuvių Magyar Македонски മലയാളം مصرى Bahasa Melayu Монгол Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk Occitan Oromoo Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча Plattdüütsch Polski Português Română Русский Scots Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina کوردی Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Basa Sunda Suomi Svenska தமிழ் తెలుగు ไทย Türkçe Українська اردو Tiếng Việt 粵語 中文 67 more Edit links This page was last edited on 27 March 2018, at 15 : 09. 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Question: what percentage of blood is composed of plasma
Answer: 55%