Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Tuesday August 26, 2008

Q: One unit of Fresh Frozen Plasma (FFP) is the plasma taken from a unit of whole blood. How quickly, it should be frozen after collection?


A: It should be frozen within eight hours of collection.

Each unit of FFP contains approximately 225-250 ml of plasma derived from a single unit of whole blood. It is stored frozen at -18° C or colder to preserve all coagulation factors. FFP is thawed in a 37° C (waterbath) upon request (20-30 minutes) and can be stored after thawing for up to 24 hours at 1-6° C. FFP doesn't require crossmatching.


Related previous pearls:

Ok to fresh frozen plasma but male-donor-only please !!

What if plasma exchange is not available as treatment for TTP

How much FFP?

Some facts about FFP