Infographic about the composition of blood.
When most people think about blood donation, they think about red blood cells. The haemoglobin. The oxygen carrier. The thing that makes blood red.
But blood is far more than its red cells. The straw-coloured liquid in which those red cells float — plasma — contains over 120 different proteins that the body uses for immunity, clotting, hormone transport, nutrition, and dozens of other functions.
When plasma is donated and sent for industrial fractionation — the process of separating it into specific protein components — it becomes the raw material for 18 different categories of life-saving medicines. Immunoglobulins for people with immune deficiencies. Albumin for liver patients. Factor concentrates for haemophilia. Alpha-1 antitrypsin for inherited lung disease. Clotting factors for surgical emergencies.
These medicines cannot currently be manufactured synthetically at scale. They can only come from donated human plasma.
India's plasma fractionation market was valued at USD 373.8 million (approximately ₹3,100 crore) in 2024 and is projected to grow at 4.32% annually through 2033. The demand for plasma-derived medicines is rising sharply as India's healthcare system expands and more patients receive diagnoses that require these therapies.
The raw material for all of it: voluntary plasma donors.
Plasma makes up approximately 55% of whole blood's volume. It is the liquid matrix in which red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets are suspended.
Plasma is roughly 90% water. The remaining 10% contains the therapeutically valuable proteins — including:
Each of these proteins can be extracted and concentrated from donated plasma to create specific therapeutic products.
Plasma is collected through two methods:
When you donate whole blood, the collection bag goes to a blood bank where a centrifuge separates it into its components. The plasma portion — sometimes called "recovered plasma" — is collected and can either be used directly as Fresh Frozen Plasma (FFP) for clinical transfusion or sent to a fractionation facility to produce plasma-derived medicines.
In India, this is the primary source of plasma for fractionation — plasma recovered from whole blood donations at blood banks across the country.
Plasmapheresis is an apheresis process where only plasma is collected, with red blood cells and other cellular components returned to the donor. The process:
Plasmapheresis centres are less common in India than in the United States or Europe — but they exist at major medical centres including AIIMS, PGIMER, and selected private hospitals. As India's plasma fractionation industry grows, plasma collection infrastructure is expanding.
IVIg is one of the most critically needed and expensive plasma-derived products globally. It is used to treat:
A single therapeutic dose of IVIg may require plasma from hundreds of donors. Patients with primary immune deficiency require regular IVIg infusions — sometimes monthly — for life.
Human albumin is used in:
India imports significant quantities of albumin because domestic fractionation capacity has not kept pace with demand. Growing India's plasma donation base reduces this import dependency.
Used for haemophilia A (Factor VIII) and haemophilia B (Factor IX) respectively. Plasma-derived factor concentrates provide the clotting proteins that haemophilia patients' bodies cannot produce. India has one of the world's largest haemophilia populations, with significant unmet demand for these concentrates.
Used in surgical emergencies, major trauma, and obstetric haemorrhage when rapid coagulation support is needed. Critical for trauma centres and obstetric units.
India's plasma fractionation market is growing rapidly, with manufacturing concentrated in:
Key domestic players in plasma fractionation include PlasmaGen BioSciences Pvt. Ltd. and Reliance Life Sciences, alongside international manufacturers who import finished products into India.
The Government of India's BIO-E3 biotechnology policy (January 2025) specifically targets plasma products as part of a goal to build a USD 300 billion biotechnology sector by 2030. This policy signals domestic manufacturing incentives that will increase demand for domestically collected plasma.
Despite its large population, India currently imports a significant proportion of its plasma-derived medicines — particularly IVIg and albumin. This import dependence reflects a plasma collection gap: the domestic collection of plasma for fractionation has not kept pace with therapeutic demand.
Globally, approximately 900,000 kilograms of plasma were sent for fractionation in 2024 — a 3% increase from 2023. The United States dominates global plasma collection through thousands of specialised collection centres. India's domestic collection capacity is a fraction of what its population and therapeutic need would justify.
The path to closing this gap runs through voluntary plasma donation — at blood banks, through plasmapheresis centres, and through the fractionation of recovered plasma from whole blood donations.
AB blood type donors are the universal plasma donors — their plasma contains no anti-A or anti-B antibodies, meaning it can be safely given to any patient regardless of blood type.
For fractionation purposes, all blood types contribute equally — the proteins extracted from plasma are the same regardless of ABO type. But for clinical emergency use of FFP, AB plasma is the most versatile and is typically reserved for emergency situations.
If you are AB blood type, your plasma has dual value: universally compatible for emergency clinical use, and fully usable for manufacturing plasma-derived medicines.
| Feature | Whole Blood | Plasma (Apheresis) | |---|---|---| | Time in chair | ~10 minutes | 45–60 minutes | | Red cells returned? | No | Yes | | Haemoglobin impact | Temporary drop | Essentially none | | Donation interval | 90 days (men), 120 days (women) | 2 weeks | | Iron loss | ~200–250 mg per donation | Minimal | | What's collected | All components | Plasma only |
Register on TheBloodApp. If you donate whole blood regularly, you are already contributing to plasma supply through the plasma component of your donation. If you want to give more — and give plasma specifically — ask your nearest blood bank about plasmapheresis availability. India's growing demand for plasma-derived medicines depends on the voluntary donors who generate the raw material. To find donation camps and blood banks near you across India, call the number listed in the app.
Sources: IMARC Group — India Plasma Fractionation Market 2024 | Mordor Intelligence — India Plasma Fractionation Market 2031 | TowardsHealthcare — Plasma Fractionation Market 2035 | Annals of Blood — Plasma Fractionation Technologies 2025 | eRaktKosh — Blood Components India | NBTC India — Plasma Donation Guidelines | WHO India Blood Safety 2024
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