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Updated: Aug 11, 2026
Routine Screening Method for Microparticles in Platelet Transfusions
Published on: January 31, 2018
Formation and fate of platelet microparticles
1Division of Hemostasis and Thrombosis, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 41 Ave Louis Pasteur, RE319, Boston, MA 02115, USA. rflaumen@bidmc.harvard.edu
Abstract:
There is increasing evidence that platelet microparticles participate in thrombus formation. Yet the origin of platelet microparticles and their fate in the circulation remain poorly defined. It is unknown, for example, whether circulating platelet microparticles found in healthy individuals are derived from activated platelets or generated during megakaryopoiesis. The life span of platelet microparticles and the mechanism of their clearance have also not been determined. This article addresses these fundamental aspects of the physiology of platelet microparticles.
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