The need for dried plasma – a national issue

Abstract

Recent studies have demonstrated that early transfusion of plasma or RBCs improves survival in patients with severe trauma and hemorrhagic shock. Time to initiate transfusion is the critical factor. It is essential that transfusion begin in the prehospital environment when transport times are longer than approximately 15 to 20 minutes. Unfortunately, logistic constraints severely limit the use of blood products in the prehospital setting, especially in military, remote civilian, and mass disaster circumstances, where the need can be most acute. US military requirements for logistically supportable blood products are projected to increase dramatically in future conflicts. Although dried plasma products have been available and safely used in a number of countries for over 20 years, there is no dried plasma product commercially available in the United States. A US Food and Drug Administration–approved dried plasma is urgently needed. Considering the US military, disaster preparedness, and remote civilian trauma perspectives, this is an urgent national health care issue.

Freeze-Drying of Platelet-Rich Plasma: The Quest for Standardization

“…The lyophilization of blood-derived products has been widely studied. Massive transfusion of freeze-dried plasma (FDP) was initiated during the Second World War to overcome logistic problems, such as the cooling and management of bags with high-plasma volumes that often cracked [3,4]. Despite good results in containing traumatic hemorrhages in the military field and catastrophic settings, its allogenic use was interrupted because of disease transmission (i.e., hepatitis, HIV).…”

“…At present, however, safety can be ensured by using infection screening on donations, leucodepletion or virus inactivation among others. Only a few countries, including Germany, Norway and Denmark, use it for civilian care [3], and, current research is insufficient to encourage the use of FDP [5].…”

The need for an artificial oxygen carrier for disasters and pandemics, including COVID‐19

“…Dried plasma is produced in Germany, France, and South Africa, with limited availability of these products outside these countries; a hemoglobin‐based oxygen carrier (HBOC) is approved for use in South Africa and Russia d . The need and rationale for a dried plasma has been published recently 24 . Here, we address the need and rationale for a non‐red cell oxygen carrier.…”

“…d The need and rationale for a dried plasma has been published recently. 24 Here, we address the need and rationale for a non-red cell oxygen carrier.…”

Dried Plasma for Trauma Resuscitation

“…When considering ground ambulances, the challenges become even more significant. A dried plasma, with reduced cold-chain requirements and easy reconstitution, is needed to enable the broader use of plasma in the prehospital setting [23,24].…”