Double red cell concentrates -in vitro quality after delayed refrigeration

Area of Science:

• Transfusion Medicine
• Blood Component Collection Technology

Background:

• Automated collection of red cell concentrates (RCC) offers advantages for donors, blood services, and recipients.
• Remote collection sites can produce finished blood components.
• Limited data exist on the stability of collected RCC at ambient temperatures before refrigerated storage.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the quality of leucodepleted RCC collected using the Haemonetics Cymbal device.
• To determine the maximum permissible storage duration of collected RCC at ambient temperature before 4°C storage.

Main Methods:

• The Haemonetics Cymbal device collected RCC using citrate, phosphate, and dextrose (CPD-50) anticoagulant.
• Two leucodepleted RCC in saline, adenine, glucose, and mannitol (SAGM) additive solution were collected per procedure.
• One RCC from each pair was stored at ambient temperature for 6 hours, the other for 8 hours, before 42-day storage at 2-6°C.
• In vitro quality assessments included haemolysis, ATP, 2,3 DPG, and supernatant potassium levels.

Main Results:

• All collected RCC met UK and European standards for volume, haematocrit, and haemoglobin.
• Haemolysis levels at Day 42 were within specification and not significantly different between 6-hour and 8-hour warm storage groups.
• ATP, 2,3 DPG, and supernatant potassium levels were comparable between warm storage groups and reference data.
• Haemolysis levels tended to be higher than reference data for whole blood-derived RCC.

Conclusions:

• The Haemonetics Cymbal device can successfully collect two RCC in SAGM.
• In vitro data suggest that RCC collected via this method can be stored without refrigeration for up to 8 hours post-collection before 4°C storage.