COMPACT PLASMA SEPARATOR AND AN APPARATUS CONTAINING THE SAME

摘要

A compact plasma separator comprises a casing provided with a blood introduction means, a blood withdrawal means and at least one opening for plasma withdrawal. A bundle of porous hollow fibers is disposed in the casing and fluid-tightly connected at end portions thereof to the blood introduction means and the blood withdrawal means. The porous hollow fibers have an average effective length not greater than 200 mm and a membrane surface area not greater than 0.3 m2, and the average effective length (L mm) satisfies the following relationship: L/D2 (mm-1) ? 2000 in which D represents an average inner diameter of the porous hollow fibers. The compact plasma separator can easily be constructed into an apparatus which can be practically employed for separating plasma from whole blood. With this apparatus, plasma separation can be performed at a high plasma collection rate, without the danger of hemolysis at the time of plasma separating without the danger of blood coagulation and without the danger of hollow clogging.