Preservative Increases Shelf Life of Platelets

Storing whole-blood-derived platelets in an artificial preservative that contained glucose, sodium, and sodium bicarbonate extended their shelf life and produced a safer end product, according to the findings of a new study.

Joseph Sweeney, M.D., director of transfusion services at The Miriam Hospital in Providence (RI, USA) and professor at Brown Medical School (Providence, RI, USA), and colleagues used a glucose-containing preservative and added sodium bicarbonate to the storage container in their study. The sodium bicarbonate protected the platelets from exposure to low pH levels. We found that by storing the platelets in the artificial preservative, we were able to retain the quality of the blood product for seven days, as opposed to having to dispose of them after only five days, he said. In addition, the team was able to reduce up to 80% of the plasma in the platelets stored in preservative. Plasma is responsible for most of the adverse reactions that transfusion patients experience.

Researchers monitored two groups of platelets derived from whole blood donations. The first group of platelets was stored in plasma, while the second group was stored in the artificial preservative. On day seven, both groups of platelets met the current requirements of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the more stringent European requirements for use. Although both groups of platelets retained their quality for seven days, the platelets in the preservative had extremely low plasma levels.

The study was reported in the May 2006 issue of the journal Transfusion. Dr. Sweeney said, Until now, preservatives containing glucose have not been successfully used for platelet storage because glucose caramelizes during sterilization, and the only way to prevent caramelization is to lower the pH levels to a point that could be harmful to the platelet.



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