Recommended methods for the assignment of assay values to stabilized cell suspensions

Area of Science:

• Clinical diagnostics
• Biomedical engineering
• Hematology

Background:

• Accurate calibration of laboratory instruments relies on stabilized blood suspensions.
• Cellular stabilization for extended shelf life can alter the biological characteristics of fresh blood.
• Erythrocyte fixation, while useful for red blood cell counting standards, impacts cell flexibility, shape, and Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV).

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the challenges of using stabilized blood suspensions for instrument calibration.
• To discuss the indirect methods required for accurate value assignment in the presence of cellular alterations.
• To explain the necessity of comparing fresh blood with stabilized suspensions across various instruments.

Main Methods:

• Indirect value assignment for stabilized blood suspensions by first calibrating fresh blood using reference methods.
• Comparison of fresh blood samples with stabilized blood suspensions on a range of user instruments.
• Detailed explanation of the methodologies employed for accurate data transfer.

Main Results:

• Fixation of erythrocytes for standards affects critical parameters like flexibility, shape factor, and MCV.
• Direct use of fixed cells leads to inaccuracies in assigned values.
• Indirect calibration methods are essential to compensate for alterations in stabilized blood.

Conclusions:

• Stabilized blood suspensions require indirect calibration due to alterations in erythrocyte properties.
• Reference methods and comparative analysis on user instruments are vital for reliable data transfer.
• Understanding the impact of fixation on red blood cell characteristics is key to accurate hematological analysis.