Blood Factors

Hemophilia is a genetic disorder characterized by an inability to clot effectively. Hemophilia A, the more common type, is caused by the failure to produce Factor VIII, while hemophilia B is caused by the failure to produce Factor IX. Hemophilia is a sex-linked disorder as the genes coding for these blood factors are found on the X-chromosome; as a result, males are more likely to inherit hemophilia as they only have one copy of the X-chromosome. Hemophilia can be treated with clotting factor replacement therapy. Clotting factor concentrate is injected into the bloodstream to prevent bleeding. Plasma factor concentrate comes from human plasma. The clotting factors are separated from the rest of the plasma through processing; the concentrate is processed repeatedly to kill viruses and remove other contaminants. The primary components in plasma factor concentrate are albumin, immunoglobulins, and the blood factors. Recombinant blood factors are produced using recombinant DNA technology. The gene coding for the factor is isolated and injected into hamster cells. The cells are grown in a cell culture and the factors are extracted from the culture. Manufacturers may add either albumin or sucrose to stabilize the factors. These products can be used to prevent or stop bleeding; they can also be administered at home, which allow people to treat bleeding episodes immediately.