It's a straw-colored, clear liquid that is 90 percent water, and it is an essential ingredient for human survival.

It might seem like plasma is less important than the blood cells it carries. But that would be like saying that the stream is less important than the fish that swims in it. You can't have one without the other.

Besides water, plasma also contains dissolved salts and minerals like calcium, sodium, magnesium, and potassium. Microbe-fighting antibodies travel to the battlefields of disease by hitching a ride in the plasma.

Without plasma, the life-giving blood cells would be left floundering without transportation. Never underestimate the importance of plasma