Elastic properties of stored red blood cells from sickle trait donor units.
OBJECTIVE
Red blood cells (RBCs) from patients with sickle cell disease present reduced deformability. The aim of this study was to analyse the elasticity of stored RBCs from patients with the sickle cell trait (AS).


METHODS
The cell elasticity was studied, using laser optical tweezers, on storage days 1, 14, 21, 28 and 35.


RESULTS
The elasticity of RBC from AS units stored for 1, 14 and 21 days was significantly greater compared with that of control RBC cells stored for the same time-period. More than 30% of the cells from AS units stored for 28 or 35 days were very rigid and escaped from the optical trap.


CONCLUSIONS
RBCs became rigid during storage, suggesting that haemoglobin S might compromise the cell elasticity.
D001782:Blood Donors; D001793:Blood Preservation; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004548:Elasticity; D004907:Erythrocyte Deformability; D004913:Erythrocytes, Abnormal / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D012805:Sickle Cell Trait / Q000097:blood*; D013997:Time Factors