Stability of red cell antigens and plasma coagulation factors stored in new formulation plastic blood containers

The stability of red blood cell antigens and plasma coagulation factors stored in new plastic blood packs containing either citrate-phosphate-dextrose (CPD) or citrate-phosphate-dextrose-adenine (CPDA-2) was studied. The containers were made of either polyolefin (PL 732TM) plastic without a plasticizer, or polyvinyl chloride with a non-diethylhexyl phthalate (non-DEHP) plasticizer (PL 1240). All studies were done in parallel using standard polyvinyl chloride (PL 146) bags containing DEPH plasticizer as controls. Red blood cell antigen scoring was performed for the A, B, c, D, K, Fya, Lea, Jka, M, and P antigens using cells obtained from both the blood container and tubing segments. Units of fresh frozen plasma and cryoprecipitate were prepared, and age and donor-matched sets of each of these blood components were stored in both test and control plastic containers. The red blood cell antigens showed no decrease in reactivity over 21 (CPD) or 35 (CPDA-2) days of storage in either test plastic compared with controls. For fresh frozen plasma (factors V, VIII, IX) and cryoprecipitate (factor VIII) the factor activity found for the test plastics ranged from 94 to 115 percent of that recorded for the age and donor-matched control plastic. The concentration of fibronectin found in cryoprecipitate stored in the test plastics averaged 90 to 99 percent of the activity found in PL 146 plastic. We conclude that the red blood cell antigens and coagulation factors tested remain stable in the plastic-anticoagulant combinations studied.