WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

Over a century ago, doctor and homeopath Josep Antoni Grifols Morera enthused his son with a passion for science in the family's Barcelona home. It was here that young Josep Antoni Grifols i Roig later built his laboratory, and ultimately his business, with the help of his own sons.

The name of that laboratory was "Instituto Central de Análisis Clínicos, Bacteriológicos y Químicos". Opened by Grifols Roig with the help of some fellow university graduates in 1909, it was to become the genesis of the Grifols company.

In the 1920s Josep Antoni took full charge of the laboratory, which was mostly dedicated to clinical analysis and the manufacture of vaccines at the time.

Sons Josep Antoni and Víctor had learned their trade at their father's feet in the family home, as their father had done before them.

By the end of the Spanish Civil war in 1939, they had taken over the family business from their father. They decided to divide responsibilities and play to their individual strengths. Josep Antoni took on the science research while Víctor became technical director.

A key part of their business strategy was to embrace lyophilization, a process where substances can be dried out without losing their properties. It could be applied effectively to the storage of plasma, with huge potential advantages to the emerging business. The company obtained a patent for Spain in 1943, and when it became clear no adequate lyophilization equipment was available, the brothers built it themselves.

Tragedy struck the Grifols family in 1958 with the death of Josep Antoni Grifols i Lucas at the age of 41. But he left a legacy that was to have a revolutionary impact on not only the company but also the wider medical community: plasmapheresis.

It's still used to this day, and is one of the foundational techniques of the plasma derivatives industry.

Plasmapheresis is a procedure which allows blood cells and platelets to be injected into a patient after the plasma has been extracted from the original blood donation.

Because the body takes only two days to regenerate its plasma compared to 90 for whole blood, plasma donations can be more frequent and provide larger quantities of the fluid without putting the donor's health at risk.