It assists in maintaining enough volume inside the blood vessels. If because of trauma, surgery, or perhaps infection, a person goes into shock, his or her blood pressure can drop very quickly, and if not corrected, could cause death. Also, because of various medical conditions, an individual can have an imbalance in the normal protein levels in the body. In these cases, albumin can be given to maintain or increase blood pressure and blood volume or help manage an underlying medical condition.
Albumin is one of the many proteins found in plasma.
It is prepared for medical use by fractionating it from the plasma of healthy donors, and then heating it to inactivate any disease causing agents. Many who would otherwise refuse blood transfusion therapy accept the medical use of minor blood fractions, such as albumin. They do not view such minor blood fractions as the same as a potentially life sustaining transfusion of whole blood, cells, or plasma. It is interesting to note that many protein fractions pass freely between a pregnant mother and her fetus, whereas their bloodstreams remain distinct and singular. Albumin, like many alternatives to blood transfusions, can be used effectively by physicians rendering non-blood medical management to any patient who desires it.