Serum (blood) Serum (blood) In blood, the serum () is the component that is neither a blood cell (serum does not contain white blood cells- leukocytes, or red blood cells- erythrocytes), nor a clotting factor; it is the blood plasma not including the fibrinogens. Serum includes all proteins not used in blood clotting and all the electrolytes, antibodies, antigens, hormones, and any exogenous substances (e.g., drugs and microorganisms). The study of serum is serology. Serum is used in numerous diagnostic tests, as well as blood typing. Measurements of serum concentrations has proved useful in many fields including clinical trials of therapeutic vs
Blood type shelf-life, blood banks fractionate some whole blood into several products. The most common of these products are packed RBCs, plasma, platelets, cryoprecipitate, and fresh frozen plasma (FFP). FFP is quick-frozen to retain the labile clotting factors V and VIII, which are usually administered to patients who have a potentially fatal clotting problem caused by a condition such as advanced liver disease, overdose of anticoagulant, or disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). Units of packed red cells are made by removing as much of the plasma as possible from whole blood units. Clotting factors synthesized by modern recombinant methods are now in routine