Plasma, the liquid portion of the blood, is more than 90 percent water. It contains all the noncellular components of whole blood including the coagulation factors, immunoglobulins and other proteins, and electrolytes. When frozen, the coagulation factors remain stable for up to one year but are usually transfused within 24 hours after thawing. However, some of the clotting factors, such as factor VIII (or antihemophilic factor, AHF) and factor V, are very labile even after the plasma is frozen and require the addition of stabilizing substances (e.g., glycine) or the use of special freezing procedures. Fresh frozen plasma is used in patients with multiple clotting factor deficiencies, such as in those with severe liver disease or massive hemorrhage.

Cryoprecipitate is prepared from fresh frozen plasma and contains about half the original amount of coagulation factors, although these factors are highly concentrated in a volume of 15–20 millilitres. Cryoprecipitate is used to treat patients with deficiencies of factor VIII, von Willebrand factor, factor XIII, and fibrinogen because it is rich in these factors.

Specific clotting factor concentrates are prepared from pooled plasma or pooled cryoprecipitate. Factor VIII concentrate, the antihemophilic factor, is the preferred treatment for hemophilia A. A monoclonal antibody–purified human factor VIII is also available. Factor IX complex, the prothrombin complex, is also available for treating hemophilia B (factor IX deficiency).

Immunoglobulins

Immune serum globulin (ISG), obtained from the plasma of a pool of healthy donors, contains a mixture of immunoglobulins, mainly IgG, with lesser amounts of IgM and IgA. It is used to provide passive immunity to a variety of diseases such as measles, hepatitis A, and hypogammaglobulinemia. Intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIGs) provide immediate antibody levels and avoid the need for painful intramuscular injections.

Hyperimmune serum globulin is prepared in the same way as the nonspecific immunoglobulin above but from patients who are selected because of their high titres of specific antibodies. Rh-immune globulin is given to pregnant Rh-negative women to prevent hemolytic disease of the newborn. Other hyperimmune serum globulins are used to prevent hepatitis B, tetanus, rabies, and varicella-zoster (chickenpox or shingles) in exposed individuals.

Bone marrow transplantation

Bone marrow transplantation does not involve the transfer of a discrete anatomic organ, as occurs in other forms of transplantation, but it does carry the same risk of rejection by the recipient, which is called graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). The main indications for bone marrow transplantation are leukemia, aplastic anemia, and congenital immunologic defects.

Immunosuppressive drugs and irradiation are usually used to prepare the recipient. Close matching of tissue between donor and recipient is also essential to minimize GVHD, with autologous transplantation being the best method to avoid the disease (the patients donate their own bone marrow at times of remission to be used later). Allogeneic (homologous) bone marrow transplants by a matched donor (preferably a sibling) are the most common.

Bone marrow transplantation initially was not recommended for patients over age 50, because of the potential for increased mortality and morbidity and because the incidence of GVHD increases in those over age 30. Many transplant centres, however, have performed successful bone marrow transplantations in patients beyond age 50. People who donate bone marrow incur no risk, because they generate new marrow to replace that which has been removed. General anesthesia is required, however, to aspirate the bone marrow from the iliac crests; the marrow is then infused into the recipient.

Hematopoietic growth factors

The hematopoietic growth factors are potent regulators of blood cell proliferation and development in the bone marrow. They are able to augment hematopoiesis when bone marrow dysfunction exists. Recombinant DNA technology has made it possible to clone the genes responsible for many of these factors. Some are commercially available and can be used to stimulate white blood cell development in patients with neutropenia (a decrease in the number of neutrophilic leukocytes) associated with cancer chemotherapy.

The first to be developed was erythropoietin, which stimulates red blood cell production. It is used to treat the anemia associated with chronic renal failure and that related to therapy with zidovudine (AZT) in patients infected with HIV. It may also be useful in reversing anemia in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. Filgrastim (granulocyte colony-stimulating factor [G-CSF]) is used to stimulate the production of white blood cells, which prevents infection in patients whose white blood cell count has diminished because of the effects of anticancer drugs. G-CSF also mobilizes stem cells, prompting them to enter the peripheral blood circulation. Stem cells can be harvested and used for bone marrow rescue. Another agent is sargramostim (granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor [GM-CSF]), which is used to increase the white blood cell count in patients with Hodgkin lymphoma or acute lymphoblastic leukemia who are undergoing autologous bone marrow transplantation.