Concentrated Human Albumin in the Treatment of Shock

W HOLE blood is the best replacement fluid for treating patients with acute hemorrhage. It has the disadvantage of being difficult to preserve and bulky to transport, and it must be typed before it is administered. In an effort to overcome these difficulties plasma has been used extensively. It has the advantage that it can be given without typing. However, it is bulky to transport in liquid or frozen state, and it is easily contaminated by bacteria. When dried, plasma is stable, but time must be taken to restore it to liquid state. A substitute for plasma which could be packaged in concentrated form, which did not need to be preserved by drying or freezing, which was stable under all types of motion produced by ships or tanks and which could be given rapidly in large quantities without reaction was obviously needed. On theoretic grounds the solution of concentrated human