Factor VIII Yields from Anticoagulant Exchanged Haemonetics Ultralite™ Plasma

Abstract

Hemophilia A, which results from a lack of procoagulant factor VIII (FVIII), is the commonest severe hemostasis disorder. It is inherited as a sex-linked recessive characteristic, affecting approximately 1:10,000 males. The main therapy for Hemophilia A is FVIII replacement using FVIII concentrate. Cryoprecipitate is no longer recommended as a primary treatment of Hemophilia A for reasons of viral safety. Cryopre-cipitation however remains the first step in the production of the great majority of FVIII concentrates derived from human plasma. Recoveries of FVIII in concentrates are low and the need for viral inactivation has further reduced the yields. We now describe work in progress to improve the recovery of FVIII in cryoprecipitates based upon the principle of anticoagulant exchange using heparin and calcium chloride.