People are sometimes given transfusions of whole blood during severe bleeding (for example after an injury or pregnancy complications), but usually they are given only the blood component they need. The different components of blood include
Plasma contains antibodies (immunoglobulins) and clotting factors, which are sometimes separated from plasma.
Not all components are produced from a particular unit of donated blood. For example, immunoglobulins and clotting factors may be prepared from plasma pooled together from many donors. White blood cells and platelets are obtained by apheresis. Depending on the situation, people may receive only the red blood cells, platelets, plasma, or clotting factors. Transfusing only selected blood components allows the treatment to be specific, reduces the risks of side effects, and can efficiently use the different components from a single unit of blood to treat several people.
Sometimes blood products are treated with radiation to reduce the risk of the transfused white blood cells attacking the recipient (graft-versus-host disease).
Some blood products can be treated with a chemical that reduces the risk of transmission of infection-causing microorganisms. In this procedure, called pathogen reduction technology, certain blood products are treated with a chemical that reduces the risk of transmission of almost all microorganisms.
Red blood cells
Packed red blood cells, the most commonly transfused blood component, can restore the blood's oxygen-carrying capacity. This component may be given to a person who is bleeding or who has severe anemia. The red blood cells are separated from the fluid component of the blood (plasma) and from the other cellular components. This step concentrates the red blood cells, thus the term “packed.”
Sometimes red blood cells are specially prepared (washed) so they can be given to people who have had severe reactions to plasma. Washed red blood cells are free of almost all traces of plasma, most white blood cells, and platelets.
Special filters are routinely used to remove white blood cells to reduce many types of side effects, including fever, chills, cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, and antibody formation against human leukocyte antigens (HLA). HLA antigens are chemical markers located on the surface of cells and are unique in each organism, enabling the body to distinguish self from nonself.
Red blood cells can be refrigerated for up to 42 days. In special circumstances—for instance, to preserve a rare type of blood—red blood cells can be frozen for up to 10 years.
Platelets
Platelets are small cell-like particles in the blood that help clots form. Platelets are usually given to people with too few platelets (thrombocytopenia), which may result in severe and spontaneous bleeding. Platelets can be stored for only 5 days because they are kept at room temperature.
In the past, several donors were needed to provide enough platelets to benefit one person. Current apheresis collection techniques that better separate platelets from other blood components allow a single donor to provide enough platelets for one person's needs.
Plasma
Plasma, the fluid component of the blood, contains many proteins, including blood clotting factors. Blood clotting factors are proteins that work with platelets to help the blood clot. Without clotting factors, bleeding would not stop after an injury.
Plasma is usually frozen immediately after it is separated from fresh blood (fresh frozen plasma). Plasma frozen within 24 hours of collection can be stored for up to 1 year. It is used for bleeding disorders in which the missing clotting factor is unknown or when the specific clotting factor is not available. Plasma also is used to replenish clotting factors in a bleeding patient such as trauma or major surgery.
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Cryoprecipitate
When fresh frozen plasma is first thawed, certain clotting factors (mainly fibrinogen, factor VIII, factor XIII, and von Willebrand factor) form solid clumps at the bottom of the liquid plasma. Clumps that form this way are called a "precipitate." "Cryo" means cold, hence the name cryoprecipitate. Therefore, cryoprecipitate is a product that contains concentrated clotting factors. Cryoprecipitate is most often given to people who have severe bleeding due to too little fibrinogen, an important clotting factor (for example, in people with disseminated intravascular coagulation or placental abruption).
Clotting factors
Individual clotting proteins also can be purified from pooled plasma or manufactured using genetic recombinant techniques. Individual concentrated blood clotting factors can be given to people who have an inherited bleeding disorder, such as hemophilia or von Willebrand disease
Antibodies
Antibodies (immunoglobulins), the disease-fighting components of blood, are sometimes given to provide temporary immunity to people who have been exposed to an infectious disease or who have low antibody levels. Antibodies are produced from treated plasma donations from multiple donors.
Infections for which antibodies are available include chickenpox, hepatitis, rabies, and tetanus.
Immunoglobulins are often given to an Rh-negative mother immediately after delivery or abortion unless the infant is also Rh-negative.
White blood cells
White blood cells are transfused to treat life-threatening infections in people who have a greatly reduced number of white blood cells or whose white blood cells are functioning abnormally. The use of white blood cell transfusions is rare, because improved antibiotics and the use of cytokine growth factors that stimulate people to produce more of their own white blood cells have greatly reduced the need for such transfusions. White blood cells are obtained by apheresis and can be stored for up to 24 hours.
Blood substitutes
Researchers are working to create blood substitutes that use certain chemicals or specially treated solutions of hemoglobin (the protein that allows red blood cells to carry oxygen) to carry and deliver oxygen to tissues.
