Freeze-Dried Plasma
25th October 2019
The U.S. Army recently had some paratroopers carry freeze-dried plasma (FDP) kits in their rucksacks during a parachute jump. This was to verify for the FDA that the FDP kits can survive a parachute. That was really no problem because FDP does not require refrigeration and, like an MRE (freeze dried Meals, Ready to Eat), contains no liquid. It comes in a plastic bag ready to be mixed with an accompanying bag of sterile water. Both are packaged in a hard plastic container built to handle rough treatment in a combat zone. The FDP kits carried by these paratroopers was the new American-made FDP. Since 2012 SOCOM (Special Operations Command) troops have been using French FDP kits, which have been used by the French military since 1994. SOCOM medics have used the French FDP over twenty times since 2012 and that saved the lives of several American soldiers. The American FDP is expected to get final FDA (Food and Drugs Administration) approval by 2020.