Every day, hundreds of thousands of litres of blood plasma are needed around the world. However, with current methods, we can only deliver a third of the required quantity. It's made from blood, and although it doesn't look like it at first glance, there aren't enough donors to reliably meet the global demand for blood. In addition, the current production is very expensive, which almost excludes poor developing countries from the application of blood plasma. But it seems there is a solution - Hemp Seeds.
Scientists examined the substances contained in hemp and found that one of the components of the hemp seed is a protein, i.e. Edestin. It is strikingly similar to another protein - albumin, which is a significant component of human blood plasma. Researchers became interested in whether edestine could be used in medicine.
Currently, plasma is mainly used to treat shock conditions, burns, acute respiratory distress syndrome, cardiopulmonary bypass surgery, primary immune deficiency, autoimmune diseases or blood clotting disorders. But the problem is that it is not enough. Currently, its only source is blood collection from human donors, from which the plasma is separated. According to WHO, almost 60 million litres of blood plasma are collected annually. It seems like a lot, but it's only a third of what would be needed. Less developed countries mainly have the problem.
The blood plasma substitute that a company called Plasma for People is developing can solve a significant part of the problems. We have already mentioned that its main component is edestin. " Edestin is a protein of plant origin, which is the most concentrated of the possible sources in the hemp seed, where it represents a little over half of the protein component ," explains Kubů, why he focuses on hemp in his research. By purifying edestine, we get rid of all contaminants. In the blood plasma substitute, edestine must be pharmacologically pure, i.e. 99.9% in our case. The rest is sodium chloride as a residue of cleaning processes. Therefore, we are not affected by legislation other than medicinal products. "
Although pure edestine is extracted from hemp seed in a rather complex way, the production costs are minimal compared to "natural plasma" from blood. The production of 1 litre costs about 1 euro in laboratory conditions, the price for a bag and physiological solution is 3.5 euros. The production costs for the finished product are therefore 4.5 euros. If it is possible to start mass production, the cost can drop to a tenth. It is also clear from the manufacturing principle that the prepared solution cannot be contaminated by any of the above-mentioned infections, thus increasing the safety of administering plasma to the patient. One of the advantages of the solution is the possibility of administration to patients whose religious or ethical beliefs do not allow them to receive a classic blood transfusion.
The result of edestine extraction is a white powder. It can be immediately mixed with physiological solution and the blood plasma substitute is ready. But Miroslav Mašata is also counting on another possibility: "We could produce 'instant plasma'." You will have a powder with salt that you dissolve in demineralised water, which can be relatively easily produced even in field conditions. This way you can produce plasma directly at the point of need." This method finds use both in natural disasters or war conflicts, and in places where it would be difficult to store blood plasma.
Plasma for People's goal is not to replace the classic production of blood plasma from blood. That wouldn't even be possible. Edestin can only help with problems associated with a lack of albumin, i.e. especially with poor metabolism. However, thanks to the low production costs and the potentially easy scalability of production, blood plasma replacement and the effective treatment associated with it will reach a much larger number of patients, especially in poor developing countries.