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Blood plasma, or plasma, is the basic fluid component of blood in which blood cells such as red and white blood cells are found. Plasma accounts for 55% of the blood volume. In laboratory conditions, they can be separated by centrifuging donor blood. After quick freezing, the plasma can be stored at a suitably low temperature (below -30 degrees Celsius) for up to two years.
Blood plasma – what is it?
Blood plasma is its liquid part and more than 90% consists of water. The remainder of the plasma consists, inter alia, with vitamins, enzymes, inorganic compounds and sugars. The component enables the supply of oxygen, nutrients and the removal of metabolic products. Thanks to the plasma collected from donors, it is possible to save the lives of people with coagulation disorders and massive hemorrhages.
Plasma constitutes as much as 5% of an adult’s body – e.g. in the case of a person weighing 70 kg, it gives as much as 3,5 liters of fluid. It contains nitrogenous compounds, e.g. urea, creatinine, fat-soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E, K), glucose, carbon dioxide and mineral salts. The composition of plasma includes red blood cells, leukocytes, thrombocytes, bicarbonate ions, metal and phosphate ions, urea and creatinine.
The color of plasma depends on the physiological state of the organism – the color of the plasma in a healthy person is light yellow. However, in women using hormonal contraception, the fluid is already green in color. Plasma is brown in people struggling with liver diseases. Moreover, excessive consumption of fats changes the color of the plasma, which then turns yellow.
Plasma – functions and role in the body
Plasma enables the morphotic (cellular) elements of the blood to form a liquid suspension. It nourishes, oxygenates, removes metabolic products and maintains the acid-base balance of the body. Plasma contains components responsible for clotting, the absence of which may result in hemorrhage or stroke. This makes the plasma isolated as a result of centrifugation from blood collected from donors play an important role in the treatment and prevention of diseases related to coagulation disorders.
Plasma contains cations and anions, without which it is impossible to maintain the acid-base balance. Due to factors in the fluid, the process of hemostasis takes place, i.e. the entirety of mechanisms preventing the outflow of blood. The function of the protein in the plasma is also extremely important, without which the body would not be able to maintain the correct osmotic pressure.
Also check: Plasma Molality (Osmolality)
Plasma – application in medicine
Plasma is administered to people who have shocks related to bleeding disorders. Another group of patients are patients with plasma defects, e.g. haemophilia, fibrinogen deficiency. The ingredient is also sometimes necessary in the treatment of disseminated coagulation syndrome and in the treatment of DIC syndrome. Plasma sometimes must also be taken by people with cancer and cirrhosis of the liver – both diseases cause coagulation disorders.
Plasma is formed after the donated blood is centrifuged. For this purpose, among others, from the automatic plasmapheresis procedure, which consists in collecting whole blood from a donor to a plasma separator, which automatically separates the plasma from red blood cells – about 630-650 ml of plasma can be collected during the procedure. Before the plasma is given to the patient, it first undergoes a virological examination.
Blood and its components can be donated by people between 18 and 65 years of age, weighing over 50 kg. They should also include people who have not had jaundice before. Blood donors cannot be women after childbirth, during pregnancy and during menstruation, and three days after its completion. Donating blood, even repeatedly, does not cause disease – sometimes a bruise may appear at the injection site; some donors may have minor stomach problems.
Also read: Plasma therapy for convalescents for COVID-19 patients. What do we know about its effectiveness?
The use of platelet-rich plasma in orthopedics
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is the part of plasma in which there is a greater concentration of platelets. It is obtained thanks to the whole blood centrifugation process. They are used to treat conditions: knees, hips, shoulders, feet and smaller joints of the hands and many other cases. Thanks to platelet-rich plasma, regeneration and healing of wounds takes place faster and at the same time brings relief to the patient faster.
The peptides in the patient’s blood determine whether the platelet-rich plasma therapy will be effective. The treatment is most often used by athletes during the treatment of injuries. After the administration of PRP, the limb must be immobilized and the patient must take anticoagulants for about a week – many patients complain of severe pain at the site where the PRP was applied, but this is a normal reaction.
Therapy with platelet-rich plasma will be helpful during the treatment of, among others:
- abnormally fusing bones,
- enzopathy (e.g. Achilles tendonitis, tennis elbow)
- chronic pain
- knee ligament injuries,
- damage to the rotator cuff,
- bursitis of the shoulder joint,
- diseases of the knee, hip and shoulder joints,
- meniscus cysts,
- overuse injuries.
Read also: Orthopedic pillow – types and benefits. How to choose the best one?
The use of plasma in aesthetic surgery
Aesthetic medicine specialists usually use platelet-rich plasma during treatments aimed at restoring the facial skin, inhibiting baldness and reducing acne scars and stretch marks – often combined with a treatment, e.g. mesotherapy of the scalp. A popular procedure with the use of PRP is the so-called vampire facelift, restoring the skin’s firmness and nice appearance.
Find out more: Tadeusz Witwicki reveals the secrets of plastic surgery
Vampire Lifiting – a rejuvenating treatment with the use of protein-rich plasma
A vampire facelift is a procedure that fills in wrinkles with the use of plasma from the patient’s blood. It is used by both people whose skin requires reconstruction and allergy sufferers who are allergic to ingredients in wrinkle fillers – medications containing the patient’s blood are biologically inert and therefore not harmful to health.
Vampire lifiting is one of the favorite treatments of many celebrities, but opinions about it in the medical community are divided. According to many doctors, rejuvenation with PRP can cause autoimmune diseases and there is no sufficiently strong scientific argument to prove its effectiveness. The treatment should not be used by pregnant women, nursing mothers and patients with blood disorders and cancer.
About 8 ml of blood is needed to perform the procedure. The doctor first takes it from the patient and centrifuges it in a special device, which contains a gel that separates red blood cells from protein-rich plasma. Then the doctor adds thrombin or calcium chloride to the plasma – substances that activate the platelets to produce cytokines. When the patient receives the preparation, the production of blood vessels takes place.
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