Platelet concentrates for topical use: bedside device and blood transfusion technology. Quality and versatility

More or less after a decade of experimental and pioneering manual procedures to prepare platelet-rich plasma (PRP) for topical use, several portable and bedside devices were made available to prepare the PRP at the point-of-care. This technical opportunity increased the number of patients who got access to the treatment with autologous PRP and PRP-gel. Since topical treatment of tissue with PRP and PRP-gel was restricted to autologous preparation, blood transfusion centers that professionally prepare donor-derived platelet concentrates were not able to cover the overwhelming request for autologous PRP supply. Principally for logistic and organization reasons blood transfusion centers usually fail the challenge of prompt delivery of PRP to the physician over large territory. Nevertheless the blood bank production of platelet concentrates is associated with high standardization and quality controls not achievable from bedside and portable devices. Furthermore it easy to demonstrate that high-volume blood bank-produced platelet concentrates are less expensive than low-volume PRP produced by portable and bedside devices. Taking also in consideration the ever-increasing safety of the blood components, the relationship between bedside device-produced and blood-bank-produced PRP might be reconsidered. Here we discuss this topic concluding that the variety of sources of PRP production is an opportunity for versatility and that, ultimately, versatility is an opportunity for the patient's care.