[A new procedure for decreasing transfusion risk in administration of fresh frozen plasma]

About 2% of patients in central Europe who receive transfusions of whole blood or blood components still develop typical transfusion-induced infections, most often non-A-non-B hepatitis. The risk of infection increases in direct correlation to the number of transfused units, which mainly means the number of different donors. We have developed a new and simple method that leads to a significant reduction of infection risk in patients who receive multiple units of fresh frozen plasma. Plasma from individual donors is gathered over a period of about 9 months, after which 5000-6000 ml is stored separately for each donor. The plasma of each donor is numbered, e.g. 1/87, 2/87, 3/87 ... 1/88. This procedure allows an immediate overview of which are the oldest units. If a patient needs multiple units of fresh frozen plasma, he receives only plasma from a single donor. The donors are under strict control; the plasma must be stored for at least 3 months. Only if the donors are free of any signs of infections such as hepatitis or HIV during that period is the plasma allowed to be transfused. If only a few units will be transfused the plasma store can be refilled within 2-4 weeks. This regimen reduces the risk of transfusion-induced infections in patients who receive 10 double units of fresh frozen plasma by at least 90%. Apart from the additional logistic costs, only a refrigerator with the capacity to store a large number of plasma units is needed.