title: Improved in-vitro quality of platelet concentrates stored in a dextrose-free synthetic medium.
abstract: The licensed balanced salt solution Plasma-Lyte, buffered with a clinical solution of sodium bicarbonate, was evaluated as a suspending fluid for platelet concentrates. Platelets suspended in this medium showed better pH maintenance over 5 days of storage compared to platelets stored in plasma (7.0 vs 6.45, P < 0.001). This was reflected in improvements in in-vitro indicators of platelet viability-hypotonic shock response (79 vs 48%, P < 0.05), aggregation to paired agonists (86 vs 62%, P < 0.05); and platelet size distribution (104 vs 119%, P < 0.001). Dissolved bicarbonate measurement showed less depletion of bicarbonate in the synthetic medium compared to plasma, which suggests a lower rate of lactate formation. A synthetic medium containing dextrose showed inferior platelet storage characteristics when compared to the plasma-lyte/bicarbonate medium in a paired study (Day 5, pH 6.53 vs 6.9, P < 0.05). The results suggest that utilization of substrates other than dextrose allows platelets to metabolize without the accumulation of lactate that leads to pH drops during storage in plasma, and continue to support the feasibility of storing platelets in a non-plasma environment.
authors.affiliation: Blood Processing Department, Red Cross Blood Bank, South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Farrugia
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Douglas
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kellner
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Amerena
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: James
mesh_terms: D001639:Bicarbonates / Q000494:pharmacology; D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000187:drug effects*; D001793:Blood Preservation; D003470:Culture Media / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D005942:Gluconates / Q000494:pharmacology; D005947:Glucose / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D015636:Magnesium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology; D010976:Platelet Count; D011189:Potassium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology; D019346:Sodium Acetate / Q000494:pharmacology; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D001639:Bicarbonates; D003470:Culture Media; D005942:Gluconates; C012499:Plasma-lyte 148; D015636:Magnesium Chloride; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D019346:Sodium Acetate; D011189:Potassium Chloride; D005947:Glucose