The documentary shows plasma frozen and dried for World War II. One audience member asked the obvious next question — and the answer brought the history right up to today's sickle cell care. Tap any quote to play the exact moment.
🎙️ In this clip: Audience member · Dr. Yvette Miller
Is it still done that way so that if we have these blood drives, the blood can be backstopped for those in need?
Liquid, frozen — and what's next
The answer: most of the blood supply is stored as liquid. For some patients with sickle cell disease who are hard to match, units can be collected ahead of a procedure and frozen until their exchange transfusion, when about 70% of their own red cells are replaced.
the majority of blood in this country is kept in a liquid form.
Freeze-dried plasma for large emergencies is still in research and not yet FDA-approved — but the Red Cross is working on it.
the Red Cross, our research group, is looking into how we can process and collect and freeze-dry large volumes of plasma
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