Originally Published IVD Technology June 2003
ASSAY DEVELOPMENT
Life and Death: Albumin at War|
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Human albumin produced by Cohn fractionation was a critical lifesaver for soldiers experiencing the mayhem of the Second World War, serving as a plasma volume expander in the treatment of injuries involving severe blood loss. Unlike blood plasma, albumin could be stored easily and cheaply near the front lines. It was highly stable. And because it did not require blood typing, it could readily be administered safely.
Extraordinarily, the U.S. government, which considered plasma fractionation to be a matter of national security, encouraged Edwin Cohn to share his technology with the leading pharmaceutical companies of the day. The scientist worked with those companies to quickly scale up and commercialize the production of human albumin as a therapeutic agent.
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