Human albumin solution has several important functions and has been used to treat critically ill patients for more than 50 years. It is the most abundant protein found in blood plasma.
Albumin has been the standard treatment for severe burns and shock since it was used on seven American sailors who recovered from serious injuries after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941. The alternative treatment is saline, which is easier and significantly cheaper. Gelatin and starch solution are other options.
It helps retain substances such as calcium, some hormones and certain drugs in the circulation, preventing their being filtered out by the kidneys and excreted in the urine.
Albumin is also important in regulating the movement of water between tissues and the bloodstream. At present it is licensed for the emergency treatment of shock and burns, and illnesses accompanied by abnormally low levels of protein in the blood.
The medical director of the Blood Transfusion Service Board, Dr William Murphy, explained yesterday that when people lose fluid from their circulation either through "weeping copious amounts of plasma through the burnt surface or through a vein or artery" the heart has nothing to pump.
The patient then begins to suffer organ failure. Often the doctor will decide to give albumin or saline to restore the volume in the circulation. Often this is enough to allow the heart to function and oxygen delivery to be restored without the addition of a blood transfusion.
Albumin, Dr Murphy explained, "is closer to what we are losing that the alternatives available. When you infuse it, it stays in the circulation. If you give saline there is greater distribution throughout the tissues and you need to give twice as much of it. Starches and sugars tend to interfere with coagulation if given in too high a dose. There are also reservations about gelatin because it comes from cows".