Hisam Siddiqi: Is FFP Really The Magic Elixir of All Coagulopathies in Liver Disease?
Hisam Siddiqi, Consultant Haematologist at LycaHealth, The Blackheath Hospital, Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“‘Is FFP really the magic elixir of all coagulopathies in Liver Disease‘
Every. Single. Day.
24/7 — 365.
Some colleagues still believe FFP is a magic bullet that will sort out any abnormal coagulation result.
But in Haematology, very few things are absolute. Almost everything lives in relative territory — especially in haemostasis.
And pouring industrial volumes of FFP into a patient to ‘chase’ a number…
Let’s just say it’s borderline high treason in our world.
I hope this extract I’ve put together from BSH guidance helps colleagues understand when to ask for FFP and when absolutely not to.
Because…
- Alcohol‑related liver disease (ALD) and other chronic liver conditions aren’t going anywhere in the Western world.
- But that doesn’t mean we should waste vast quantities of FFP just because we feel uncomfortable with the numbers.
- The INR in liver disease is a reflection of synthetic dysfunction, not a target to normalise with plasma.
Let’s cascade this message to our trainees and teams — it’s a small learning point that prevents a huge amount of unnecessary transfusion, risk, and resource use.
Would love to hear your thoughts — drop them below!
Humour very welcome. Education essential.”

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