Is red blood cell rheology preserved during routine blood bank storage?
BACKGROUND
Red blood cell (RBC) units stored for more than 2 weeks at 4 degrees C are currently considered of impaired quality. This opinion has primarily been based on altered RBC rheologic properties (i.e., enhanced aggregability, reduced deformability, and elevated endothelial cell interaction), during prolonged storage of nonleukoreduced RBC units. In this study, the rheologic properties and cell variables of leukoreduced RBC units, during routine blood bank storage in saline-adenine-glucose-mannitol, were investigated.


METHODS
Ten leukoreduced RBC units were stored at the blood bank for 7 weeks at 4 degrees C. RBCs were tested weekly for aggregability, deformability, and other relevant variables.


RESULTS
RBC aggregability was significantly reduced after the first week of storage but recovered during the following weeks. After 7 weeks aggregability was slightly, but significantly, reduced (46.9 + or - 2.4-44.3 + or - 2.2 aggregation index). During storage the osmotic fragility was not significantly enhanced (0.47 + or - 0.01% phosphate-buffered saline) and the deformability at shear stress of 3.9 Pa was not significantly reduced (0.36 + or - 0.01 elongation index [EI]). The deformability at 50 Pa was reduced (0.58 + or - 0.01-0.54 + or - 0.01 EI) but remained within reference values (0.53 + or - 0.04). During 5 weeks of storage, adenosine triphosphate was reduced by 54% whereas mean cell volume, pH, and mean cell hemoglobin concentration were minimally affected.


CONCLUSIONS
RBC biochemical and physical alterations during storage minimally affected the RBC ability to aggregate and deform, even after prolonged storage. The rheologic properties of leukoreduced RBC units were well preserved during 7 weeks of routine blood bank storage.
Henkelman
Sandra
S
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.
Dijkstra-Tiekstra
Margriet J
MJ
de Wildt-Eggen
Janny
J
Graaff
Reindert
R
Rakhorst
Gerhard
G
van Oeveren
Willem
W
D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000097:blood; D001771:Blood Banks / Q000592:standards; D001782:Blood Donors; D001793:Blood Preservation / Q000379:methods*; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D004903:Erythrocyte Aggregation / Q000502:physiology; D004907:Erythrocyte Deformability / Q000502:physiology; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000032:analysis; D006461:Hemolysis; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D009426:Netherlands; D009996:Osmotic Fragility / Q000502:physiology; D012212:Rheology / Q000379:methods*
D006454:Hemoglobins; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate