Plasma in Blood – All you need to know

What is plasma?

Human blood can be separated into various components. One of the most vital components is plasma.

Human blood contains

• Red blood cells
• White blood cells
• Platelets and
• Plasma

Plasma makes up about 50% of blood. It is responsible for executing various functions in the body.

Plasma is clear and it is the single largest component of the human blood.

Plasma is 90% water. The water in plasma helps to fill the blood vessels which moves the blood and other important nutrients to the heart.

Plasma also contains several important components like

• Proteins
• Immunoglobulins and
• Electrolytes.

What functions does plasma perform?

The main function of plasma is to remove waste from cellular functions and to produce energy.

Plasma transports the waste to other areas of the body for excretion.

Apart from these main functions plasma has several other functions which are carried out by various components present in them.

The plasma is also responsible for maintaining proper pH balance in the body.

Proteins in plasma

Plasma contains two important proteins called albumin and fibrinogen.

Albumin protein is important for maintaining the balance of fluids in the blood.

Fibrinogen will help reduce active bleeding and plays an important role in the blood clotting process.

In case a person loses a lot of blood they can loose plasma, and make it difficult for the body to clot blood.

Immunoglobulins

Plasma contains gamma globulins, which is a type of immunoglobulin that helps the body combat infections.

Electrolytes

Plasma contains common electrolytes like sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium.

Every mineral plays a key role in the body.

When the body is deprived of enough electrolytes it can exhibit symptoms like

• Weakness
• Heart arrhythmias and
• Seizures

The body requires adequate plasma.

How do we know if we have enough plasma?

Plasma protein tests are conducted to detect the amount of protein in the blood.

A doctor may also ask a person to undergo the test if they believe there might be an underlying health condition.

The plasma protein test will help a doctor to determine the overall health of a person.

By undergoing the test, the doctor can identify a few disorders like

• Bone marrow disorders
• Fluid buildup in the tissue
• Liver infections
• Bowel diseases
• Kidney infections and malnutrition

If a doctor advises a person to undergo the test, it is important to understand that it should be done immediately.

Usually, a doctor advises a person to avoid medication before the test as it may interfere with the test result.

What are the symptoms to look out for?

When the body has abnormal levels of protein It may exhibit a few symptoms like

• Slow clotting of blood
• brittle nails
• hair loss
• bruises
• rashes
• headache
• vomiting and
• nausea.

Similarly, high protein levels in the body can also cause

• Bone pain
• Numbness in hands
• Loss of appetite
• Frequent infections
• Excessive thirst and
• Unexplained weight loss.

However, it is important to remember that the symptoms may vary depending on the person and the condition causing abnormal plasma protein levels in the body.

Donating plasma

Globally people lose a lot of blood due to unfortunate events like accidents or surgeries.

While losing blood they also lose a lot of plasma. As mentioned, plasma plays a vital role in the body. Losing it can have serious effects on a person’s health.

This is why there are many health centers and organizations collecting plasma.

The procedure of plasma donation

There are a couple of methods to donate plasma. The first method is by donating blood.

The other procedure involves donating only plasma. This method is performed through a series of procedures called plasmapheresis.

Plasmapheresis is a process where the liquid part of the blood is separated from the blood cells.

In this procedure, a machine would draw the blood from the vein into a centrifuge. When the centrifuge spins rapidly, it separates plasma from the other blood components.

This is possible because the plasma is lighter than the other components in the blood.

So, while spinning the glass , plasma  will rise to the top and other components are separated.

Can anyone donate plasma?

There are a few prerequisites for donating plasma.

• The donor must be between the age of 18 and 70
• The donor must be at least 50 kg
• The donor must not have donated plasma for one month.

Why donating plasma is important?

A very small number of people donate plasma. Plasma on blood donation or critical activities that can save lives.

Plasma or recovered plasma is used for therapies that can treat people with rare or chronic disorders.

Usually donating plasma takes between 1 to 3 hours. Donating blood or plasma has ethical reasons because at uncertain times it is equally important for the donor in a medical need.

What are the risk factors involved in plasma donation?

Some people may feel allergic reactions while donating plasma. The needles might trigger reactions in people.

In rare cases, people can experience lung damage and also some difficulty in breathing.

In certain cases when needles are not sterilized properly infections like HIV and hepatitis can affect a person.

If the needle is injected into a person who already has a disease and then the non-sterilized needle is injected into another person the blood carries infections.

To sum up

Plasma plays an integral role in regulating the body temperature to fight disease.

Not having enough plasma can cause serious health consequences.

People can donate plasma to others. Such noble acts can save lives, as plasma can be stored frozen for more than a year.

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