Use of Highly Porous Polymer Beads to Remove Anti-A and Anti-B Antibodies from Plasma for Transfusion

Plasma from AB donors is considered universal as it can be transfused regardless of recipient blood type and is frequently used to rapidly resuscitate massively bleeding hospital trauma patients and warfighters with combat casualties. However supplies can be rapidly depleted as AB donors make up only 4% of the population. Therefore robust a technology to cost-effectively generate universal plasma from any donor is of great importance. We propose the development of a light-weight, biocompatible filter, composed of a highly porous polymer to remove anti-A and anti-B antibodies from plasma. This small, light-weight filter will convert the plasma from donors of any blood type into universal plasma while maintaining levels of beneficial plasma factors without the use of expensive, complex biological ligands that could degrade or leach from the column. The outcome will be the development of a safe, easy-to-use, cost-effective filter that can simplify logistics, reduce transfusion costs and eliminate risk from transfusion errors caused by ABO incompatibility, providing a significant clinical benefit to patients treated at emergency trauma centers but particularly for logistically-constrained, advanced military surgical units. The widespread availability of universal plasma has the potential to significantly advance early resuscitative treatment protocols for massive trauma patients.