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Updated: Sep 10, 2025
Preparation and Pathogen Inactivation of Double Dose Buffy Coat Platelet Products using the INTERCEPT Blood System
Published on: December 7, 2012
Aggregate formation in cold-stored platelet products is associated with donor source, not with storage shelf style
Kathleen Kelly1, Susanne Marschner1, Alisha Chitrakar2
1Vitalant Innovation Center, Vitalant, Denver, Colorado, USA.
Insights
Aggregate formation in cold-stored platelets (CSPs) is primarily donor-dependent. Storage conditions like shelving style and label orientation do not significantly impact aggregate formation in these essential blood products.
Area of Science:
- Hematology
- Blood banking
- Platelet storage
Background:
- Cold-stored platelets (CSPs) are approved for use in bleeding patients when room temperature platelets are unavailable.
- Cold storage can promote platelet aggregate formation, but specific storage conditions' effects are not well understood.
- CSPs are stored in gas-permeable bags, necessitating investigation into storage variables.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of shelving style (perforated vs. solid) and label orientation (up vs. down) on aggregate formation in CSPs.
- To determine if these storage conditions influence platelet count, mean platelet volume, immature platelet fraction, or metabolic parameters.
- To assess effects on surface receptor expression, thrombin generation, aggregation, and occlusion under flow.
Main Methods:
- Single-donor apheresis platelets were stored for 14 days at 1-6°C under four different shelving and label orientation conditions.
- Units were visually scored for aggregates and analyzed for various hematological and metabolic parameters.
- Platelet function, receptor expression, and thrombin generation were evaluated in a subset of units.
Main Results:
- Platelet aggregate occurrence was similar across all storage conditions, with significant variation attributed to the donor rather than the storage method.
- While metabolic parameters differed between shelving styles, phenotypic and functional characteristics remained unremarkable.
- No differences in intrinsic hemostatic function were observed among the storage conditions.
Conclusions:
- Aggregate formation in CSPs is predominantly donor-dependent.
- Shelf style and label placement do not appear to impact aggregate formation in CSPs.
- These findings suggest that current storage methods are robust regarding aggregate formation, with donor variability being the key factor.
Background And Objectives:
Cold-stored platelets (CSPs) stored out to 14 days are approved in the United States for use in actively bleeding patients when conventional room temperature-stored platelets are unavailable. Cold storage promotes aggregate formation, yet how specific storage conditions impact aggregate formation remains poorly defined. As CSPs are stored in gas-permeable bags, we investigated how the shelving style (perforated, solid) or label orientation (up, down) affects CSP aggregate formation.
Materials And Methods:
Single-donor apheresis platelets (N = 17, Trima 100% plasma) were split equally into small-volume platelet storage bags to create four mini-units/donor. These were stored for 14 days (1-6°C) under the following conditions: (i) perforated shelving, label down; (ii) perforated shelving, label up; (iii) solid shelving, label down; and (iv) solid shelving, label up. Units were visually scored for aggregates and assayed for platelet count, mean platelet volume, immature platelet fraction and metabolic parameters. In a subset of units (N = 11 donors), we evaluated surface receptor expression, thrombin generation, aggregation and occlusion under physiologically relevant flow.
Results:
Aggregate occurrence was similar across all four storage conditions, and varied more with respect to donor (coefficient of variation [CV] = 116%) than storage condition (CV = 14%). While units stored on solid shelves had statistically significant different metabolic parameters compared to units stored on perforated shelves, phenotypical and functional differences between shelving styles were unremarkable. There were no differences in intrinsic haemostatic function of units under all four conditions.
Conclusion:
Aggregate formation in CSPs appears to be donor-dependent, and not impacted by shelf style or label placement.
