Human albumin, derived from fraction V, is the last protein produced in the Cohn-Oncley fractionation process.

Common Uses

Human serum albumin (HSA) is used in various applications in both clinical and laboratory settings. Clinically, HSA is used as, among other things, a volume expander for hypovolemic patients. HSA is also used in laboratory settings as an excipient/stabilizer or as a cell culture medium in many biotech and vaccine products.

Safety and Quality

Because HSA is used as a therapeutic agent, a trustworthy HSA source must meet strict safety standards in an effort to protect end users.

Donor Selection Standards

Our manufacturers source plasma that meets or exceeds all FDA and PPTA Source requirements and conforms to industry standards.

• Donors are rigorously screened, examined, tested, and tracked.
• Strict enforcement of age limits (18-59) is designed to avoid donors in higher CJD at-risk age groups.
• Repeat donors provide 100% of plasma.
• Use of certified collection centers means reliable safety standards.

Plasma Collection Standards

• Plasma is held for 60 days after it undergoes extensive serologic and laboratory testing.
• All plasma samples are subjected to investigational NAT/PCR^* testing designed to detect low levels of viral material. The significance of a negative result is unknown since the effectiveness of the test has not been established.

*NAT = nucleic acid testing; PCR = polymerase chain reaction

A Brief History of Albumin

Albumin, the most abundant protein found in the human body, has been the subject of much discussion and research. Hippocrates first mentioned some of its physiologic properties, but albumin was not named or studied until the early 1800s. The modern use of human albumin was established during World War II due to demand for plasma substitutes by E.J. Cohn and colleagues at the Plasma Fractionation Laboratory of the Harvard University Department of Physical Chemistry. The first documented clinical use of human albumin occurred on December 8, 1941 with seven sailors severely burned during the attack at Pearl Harbor.