About Plasma

The main plasma products

Human plasma is the basic material for many essential active ingredients to produce life-saving or life-sustaining drugs for patients. More than 80% of all Austrians are dependent on medicines made from blood plasma at least once in their lives.

The main plasma products

Antibodies
(Immunoglobulins)

for antibody deficiency states and for various immune therapies

Albumine

for serious injuries, burns and cancer

Fibrin glue

for internal bleeding and major surgeries

Fibrinogen

for internal injuries and for wound closure

Coagulation factors

help people with a disturbed coagulation system (bleeders) to survive

The most important areas of application for plasma products are:

IMMUNOGLOBULINs (ANTIBODIES)

Immunoglobulins are also called antibodies and are part of our immune system. The function of these proteins is to detect and fend off various pathogens and substances that invade our body. The immunoglobulins are able to recognise various chemical structures/substances foreign to the body such as bacteria, viruses, toxins, pollen and other allergens and thus protect our organism from infections.

A distinction is made between primary (congenital) and secondary (acquired) antibody deficiency diseases.

Immunoglobulins help in the treatment of patients:

with life-threatening infections such as tetanus, rabies or meningitis caused by tick bites
with weakened immune system after cancer or bone marrow transplantation
of people with a congenital antibody deficiency. These can be successfully treated with immunoglobulin preparations. (Currently, about 1500 people in Austria suffer from a congenital immune deficiency)
with pregnancy complications: different rhesus factors of father and mother can lead to pregnancy complications. A plasma preparation prevents the rhesus sensitization of the mother
Autoimmune diseases
with severe inflammation of nerves or internal organs
Newborns who have a weak immune system from birth

ALBUMINE

is produced in the liver. It serves as a transport protein in the blood and, above all, maintains the colloid osmotic pressure that determines the distribution of fluid in the body. The albumins make up the largest part of the proteins dissolved in the blood plasma (60 percent).

Albumine is used for severe injuries, extensive burns, debilitating cancers (e.g. after chemotherapy) and severe blood loss.

Albumine helps in the treatment of these patients:

Patients with severe injuries and burns
Cancer patients with debilitating cancers
Bypass operations
Patients with heart-lung problems
Shock patients

FIBRINOGEN

Fibrinogen is the precursor protein of fibrin, the main component of blood clots. It is produced in the liver and plays a central role in blood clotting.

Fibrinogen is mainly used for internal injuries and for local wound closure. Torn tendons and nerve cords in neurosurgery can also be reattached with fibrin glue.

Fibrinogen is used to treat patients::

with internal injuries (e.g. torn liver)
with local wound closure
with torn tendons and nerve cords in the neurosurgical area, these can be reconnected with fibrin glue

COAGULATION FACTORS
Clotting factors are those protein components of the blood that serve to clot the blood and are largely produced in the liver. Without them, we would bleed to death from the slightest injury. Hemophiliacs often lack a certain coagulation factor, which means that the body cannot control bleeding. This can result in joint damage, in severe cases bleeding in vital organs or in the brain. Lifelong treatment with factor concentrates can enable these patients to live a mostly normal life.

Clotting factors help to treat:
People with forms of congenital hemophilia:

Haemophilia A (80% of those affected) in whom clotting factor VIII is absent or present in too low a concentration
the rarer haemophilia B (20% of those affected), which is caused by a factor-IX deficiency
Von Willebrand-Jürgens Syndrome