Is there a Standard as to how much minimum volume should be there in a unit of FFP? Also, do most hospitals issue FFP based on ml/kg or Units? Thanks.

I don't know that there is a minimum- never run across one. We issue by # of units for adults. Only do by mls for infants or small children; the clinician determines volume to be given.

In the Uk, the Guidelines say give 10-15mL/kg body weight as a minimum, whatever the patient's age.

This Guideline is almost universally ignored, so that a 98lb person gets 2 units, as does a 224lb person!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:disbelief:disbelief:disbelief:disbelief:disbelief:disbelief

Back when I was in the donor business we weighed the FFP we made to 230ml. I understand now with the advent of additive solutions the FFP vol. bumped up to 250+ml. Now, I understand they have "jumbo" bags of FFP available. That being said, we always provided FFP by the "unit" except for our smallest patients, ie newborns and small children, and then the physician ordered a specific volume. I think with the current technology I would be surprised if there was much variation in volume from one FFP to another so concern about how much is in each bag should not be a problem. If there is then I would probably have a long discussion with my provider.

I seem to have lost my "smily faces", any body know where they went?

We still do units but our organization has been looking at going to mL/Kg.

Thanks for all the replies.

Does anyone know where the recommended guideline of 10-15 ml/kg originated from? Was it derived based on factor concentration and how high you wanted to get the factor levels to?

Thanks.

Is there a Standard as to how much minimum volume should be there in a unit of FFP?

Plasma, as a non-standard volume product, is required to be labeled with the specific volume content. As such, I do not believe/am not aware of any Standard or FDA regulation that specifies a minimum volume for the product. Some facilities may arbitraily select a volume under which they choose to not label/release a product for transfusion purposes, e.g., 175 mL, since a volume less than that might be considered to provide less than a "normal" therapeutic adult dose. Considering a significant portion of the content of a low-volume unit may actually be anticoagulant rather than plasma, common sense should prevail.......

[NOTE: this is different than a "normal" volume unit of plasma which is then divided into smaller aliquots, e.g., 75 mLs, for use in small volume/neonate transfusions.]

Blood Transfusion Therapy: A Physician's Handbook (9th ed, 2008) on page 31 states "When plasma is given for coagulation factor replacement, the dose is 10 to 20 mL/kg (3 to 6 units in an adult). This dose should be expected to increase the level of coagulation factors by 20% immediately after infusion".

I hate to see us go this direction because I'm afraid that wastage will go up if physicians start asking for an exact volume. Adult products have routinely been given by unit and not by exact dosing amounts and in over 30 years of doing this, I have yet to see a complication that I could reasonably attribute to this practice.

Those of you who give products to adults based on dosage (mL/kg) criteria, what did this practice do to your wastage rate? For those of you considering going to this practice on adults, what is the reasoning for considering the change?

:tongue:If only I could get my docs to stop ordering 4 units of FFP on everyone!

10-15 ml per kg body weight is the calculation we use for the reciepients who are receiving FFP...

But the question asked is with regard to the minimum amount of FFP which need to be present inside the FFP....

and as per AABB, the volume need to be between 150- 250 ml.,.per unit of FFP ?