Clinical application of plasma derived medicines: current situation and future trend

Blood plasma consists of a number of functional groups which have a major function in order to maintain or restore the physiological status of the human body. About 13% of the body weight consists of blood including the cellular components erythrocytes, leucocytes and platelets, and plasma. Plasma contains many different substances such as secreted proteins e.g. albumin, clotting factors, fibrinogen, and immunoglobulins (IgG, IgA, IgM, IgD, IgE); tissue leakage products e.g. cardiac myoglobin; “distant” receptor ligands e.g. insulin; “local” receptor ligands e.g. interleukin 8; aberrant secretions e.g. prostate specific antigen (PSA) in prostate cancer; temporary passengers e.g. lysomal enzymes; and foreign proteins e.g. virus. In general, the medicinal products that are isolated from plasma are divided into a number of functional groups: albumin solutions, clotting factor concentrates, immunoglobulins, serine protease inhibitors, and other products.