In 1940, Edwin Cohn, a professor of biological chemistry at Harvard Medical School, developed cold ethanol fractionation, the process of breaking down plasma into components and products. Albumin, gamma globulin and fibrinogen were isolated and became available for clinical use.

During World War II, Cohn directed research efforts to develop methods for separating human blood plasma into different components for clinical use in the Armed Forces. These efforts were eventually scaled up to process blood donations into albumin to treat soldiers suffering from shock.