Bacteriological sterility of washed deglycerolized red blood cells after 72 hours storage.
Samples of reconstituted frozen red blood cells, maintained at 4 C for 72 hours prior to culture, revealed a bacterial contamination rate of less than 0.2 per cent, suggesting that the present shelf life of 24 hours may be safely extended to 72 hours.
D001793:Blood Preservation / Q000592:standards*; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000382:microbiology*; D005615:Freezing; D006801:Humans; D013210:Staphylococcus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013997:Time Factors