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Updated: Nov 3, 2025
Preparation and Pathogen Inactivation of Double Dose Buffy Coat Platelet Products using the INTERCEPT Blood System
Published on: December 7, 2012
Pathogen inactivation of platelets for transfusion
1Apheresis & Cellular Therapy Unit, Department of Hemotherapy & Hemostasis, ICMHO, IDIBAPS, UB,Hospital Clínic,Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Abstract:
Bacterial contamination of blood components is a recurrent topic in transfusion medicine community. This issue is even more important with platelet transfusions because of storage of platelet components at room temperature for 5 days. Pathogen inactivation methods are a proactive approach to deal with an infectious agent. All available methods use UV light, with or without a photosensitizer, to inactivate potential pathogens. As with other medical interventions, pathogen inactivation methods carry benefits and risks. Among benefits, inactivation of known and unknown transfusion-transmitted pathogens, inactivation of residual leukocytes, and increased storage length from 5 to 7 days are the most interesting. The main risk is the impact on clinical efficacy of pathogen-reduced platelets. After inactivation, pathogen-reduced platelets are associated with a lower number of platelets in the final product, lower 24-hour corrected count increment, and shorter transfusion interval when compared with non-inactivated platelets. However, eight of nine randomized controlled trials showed that transfusing pathogen-reduced platelets were not inferior to transfusing usual platelet components in the prevention of bleeding episodes. In conclusion, in our opinion, increasing safety of platelet transfusions with pathogen inactivation methods is worthy, even the trade-off of causing damage to platelets.
Insights
Pathogen inactivation methods enhance platelet transfusion safety by reducing bacterial contamination risks. While slightly reducing platelet efficacy, these methods are deemed beneficial for preventing transfusion-transmitted infections.
Area of Science:
- Transfusion Medicine
- Blood Component Safety
- Pathogen Reduction Technologies
Background:
- Bacterial contamination is a significant risk in blood component transfusion, especially for platelets stored at room temperature.
- Platelet components have a short shelf-life of 5 days due to storage conditions.
- Pathogen inactivation (PI) methods offer a proactive strategy to mitigate infectious agent transmission.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the benefits and risks of pathogen inactivation methods in platelet transfusion.
- To assess the clinical efficacy of pathogen-reduced platelets compared to standard platelet components.
Main Methods:
- Review of available pathogen inactivation technologies, primarily using UV light with or without photosensitizers.
- Analysis of clinical trial data comparing pathogen-reduced platelets with non-inactivated platelets regarding efficacy and safety outcomes.
- Evaluation of key performance indicators such as platelet count, corrected count increment, and transfusion intervals.
Main Results:
- Pathogen inactivation offers benefits including inactivation of known and unknown pathogens, residual leukocyte reduction, and extended storage from 5 to 7 days.
- Pathogen-reduced platelets show a lower platelet yield, reduced 24-hour corrected count increment, and shorter transfusion intervals post-inactivation.
- Eight of nine randomized controlled trials indicated non-inferiority of pathogen-reduced platelets compared to standard components in preventing bleeding episodes.
Conclusions:
- Pathogen inactivation methods significantly enhance the safety of platelet transfusions by reducing the risk of bacterial contamination.
- Despite a trade-off in platelet efficacy (e.g., reduced platelet count and increment), the overall benefit of increased transfusion safety is considered worthwhile.
- The use of pathogen inactivation technologies is a valuable strategy in transfusion medicine for improving patient outcomes.
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