In-process cell counts during preparation of platelet concentrates from buffy coats

Area of Science:

• Blood banking and transfusion medicine
• Hematology
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Platelet concentrates (PCs) are crucial for treating bleeding disorders.
• Ensuring adequate platelet yield and quality during production is essential.
• Current methods involve pooling buffy coats (BCs) to achieve target volumes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate in-process platelet recoveries in pooled PCs.
• To compare two different pooling systems (Biopack Compoflex and Optipac).
• To determine the optimal number of BCs for pooling to meet quality standards.

Main Methods:

• PCs were prepared from 4 or 5 BCs using Biopack Compoflex and Optipac systems.
• Sterile connection devices and platelet additive solution were used for pooling.
• Centrifugation, filtration with Auto-Stop BC-leukocyte removal filter, and automated platelet counting were performed.

Main Results:

• Pooling 5 BCs resulted in a significantly higher success rate (>97%) of achieving >200 x 10^9 platelets per unit compared to pooling 4 BCs (40%).
• Average platelet recoveries were comparable between Biopack (62%) and Optipac (57%) systems.
• A positive correlation was found between the number of initial BCs and final PC counts.

Conclusions:

• Starting with five BCs is safer for achieving the minimum platelet content requirement of 200 x 10^9 platelets per unit.
• Production system choice had less impact on recovery than the number of BCs pooled.
• Improving recovery rates during production could potentially allow meeting targets with fewer BCs.