Plasma for Liver Disease Treatment
Plasma is a component of your blood that carries important cells and has many vital functions, including transport, clotting, and detoxification.
Plasma donations help treat many diseases, injuries, and disorders, including liver disease.
The liver cannot perform properly after a certain amount of damage, resulting in liver failure.
Symptoms of liver disease may not be noticeable at first. However, as the disease progresses, abdominal pain and the accumulation of fluid inside the abdomen may occur.
As the liver fails, it cannot filter out dangerous toxins, causing confusion and disorientation. This disorder is called hepatic encephalopathy.
At a certain point, a damaged liver can no longer repair itself. Liver failure can be fatal without medical intervention or a liver transplant—but transplants are often not available.
How Does Plasma Treat Liver Disease
Plasma and plasma products are often used to treat liver disease. The two most common therapies are albumin infusions and plasma exchange.
Albumin and Liver Disease
Albumin is an important protein carried in healthy plasma. It has essential roles in detoxification and in regulating inflammation and immunity. Albumin can be isolated from healthy plasma donations and used to treat ascites, a complication of severe liver damage.
Ascites is the accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity. It is a disabling condition that may result in repeated hospitalizations and increases the risk of kidney failure and a bacterial infection within the abdomen.
This condition is often treated with paracentesis, the removal of fluid from the abdominal cavity using a needle and catheter. After removing a large amount of fluid, albumin can be infused into a patient’s blood to prevent complications.
Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, or infection of the lining of the abdominal cavity, is a complication of liver failure. Albumin may help to treat this condition. The kidneys can also fail as a result of liver failure, and albumin infusions can help to reduce kidney injury.
There is evidence that long-term infusions of albumin could improve survival and reduce complications in those with severe liver failure. This protein can help:
- Maintain fluid balance
- Prevent complications
- Support blood pressure
- Enhance nutritional status
Plasma Exchange and Liver Disease
Plasma exchange helps liver failure patients by replacing their plasma—which often contains multiple toxins—with plasma from a healthy donor. Receiving fresh plasma reduces inflammatory and toxic substances in the blood. Plasma exchange may increase survival in people with liver failure who may be waiting for a transplant or who are not candidates for a transplant.
Consider Donating Plasma at PlasmaSource
Your plasma donation can help change the lives of those with liver failure and many other disorders, diseases, conditions, and injuries. As plasma cannot be created in a lab, donations are essential and help many people to receive the treatment they need to thrive.
We invite you to learn more about the plasma donation process at PlasmaSource. Contact us to schedule an appointment.
