An Overview of the Blood and Plasma Components
Before discussing in-depth blood and plasma components, let’s understand what blood is.
Blood refers to connective tissues developed using formed components, fluid matrix, and plasma. To transport oxygen, food, etc., several organisms need fluid running throughout their body to perform such tasks.
Most of the bigger species, such as humans, use blood as the primary fluid for performing the diverse tasks inside the body. The main components of blood are white blood cells (WBC), red blood cells (RBC), plasma, serum, and blood platelets.
Among the above-mentioned blood components, plasma is said to be the most important one, as it is present in approximately half of the blood.
‘Let’s understand what plasma is.
Plasma is referred to as a liquid component that is pale yellow in color and helps to make half (50%) of the blood. The plasma contains 90% of water, whereas the remaining 10% are nutrients, hormones, enzymes, fats, and salts.
The plasma present in the red and white blood cells has higher protein concentrations, clotting factors, fibrinogen, and immunoglobulins. This high level of proteins helps to protect against infections and maintain osmotic pressure.
Blood and Plasma- A Brief Introduction
The blood plasma plays a vital role in fighting against strong infections, maintaining blood pressure levels, and eliminating and transporting waste products of the cells.
Blood and Plasma Components
Following are the blood and plasma components that help the human body to be strong against deadly viruses and infections.
- Plasma Proteins: Those proteins, which include albumin and globulin, are known as plasma proteins. It helps to control the pressure level of the circulatory system.
- Coagulants: The primary role of coagulants is to provide support in blood clotting, which is a critical process for slowing down the bleeding speed. The commonly found plasma coagulant in the human body is fibrinogen.
- Electrolytes: These include chloride, calcium, bicarbonate, sodium, and potassium. The use of electrolytes in the human body is vast. Generally, in blood plasma, electrolytes are used to regulate blood pressure levels.
- Immunoglobulins: Immunoglobulins are responsible for creating approximately 20% of the proteins present in the blood plasma. The body’s immune system helps to produce immunoglobulins which fight against fungi, viruses, bacteria, and parasites.
Insight of Blood and Plasma Component Market
The global blood and plasma component market is constantly witnessing high growth over the last few decades.
The primary factors rising the blood and plasma component market growth are expected to be:
- The rising burden of diseases such as Willebrand disease (vWD) and hemophilia.
- Rising research and developments in the usage of plasma components for treating neurological disorders such as chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP).
- Several initiatives by the key players of the blood and plasma component market to launch and expand the plasma collection centers.
According to the BIS Research report, the global blood and plasma component market is supposed to grow from a market value of $39.58 billion in 2020 to $66.47 billion in 2031, at a CAGR of 4.90% during the forecast period 2021–2031.
Role of Plasma in Blood
Blood plasma has several functions, and each of the plasma components plays diverse critical roles.
Following are the key roles of plasma in blood
- Transporting nutrients:
The human body contains a massive number of cells. These cells keep growing, repairing, and performing their tasks, but they also need nutrients to do the same.
So, to keep cells doing their task, blood plasma absorbs the required nutrients from the human digestive system and passes them through the body. The absorbed nutrients by blood plasma include amino acids, glucose, vitamins, and fats.
- Managing wastes
When cells perform their functions, a lot of waste products come out that can cause damage to the human body if they get stored in larger quantities.
So, to keep the body free of cell waste, the blood plasma absorbs this waste and passes them to the kidney or skin for excretion and processing.
- Transporting Hormones
Hormones are responsible for passing signals from one body part to another. If these signals do not get passed in the required manner, the entire body’s processes can be affected badly.
To keep things under control, blood plasma carries the hormones through the body and lets the signal pass accurately.
- Respiration
The cells require a constant oxygen supply to work in the required manner. Hemoglobin and red blood cells in the blood plasma help to pass the oxygen from the body’s lungs to cells and carbon dioxide (CO2) from the body’s cells to the lungs.
Conclusion
Blood plasma is one of the most significant elements of the blood, as it helps in performing several important body functions. Healthcare experts use blood plasma and donated blood to treat several diseases and control emergencies.
