Properties of donated red blood cell components from patients with hereditary hemochromatosis.
Red blood cells (RBCs) contain large amounts of iron, and periodic therapeutic phlebotomy is thus the main treatment for hereditary hemochromatosis (HH). However, the donation of therapeutic phlebotomy products from asymptomatic patients for transfusion purposes remains controversial. In this study, we compared the quality of RBCs obtained from HH patients with those of non-HH RBCs, within the allowed 42-day storage period.



RBCs were obtained from HH patient donors and random regular blood donors by whole blood collection. RBCs were stored for up to 42 days, according to national regulations and standard blood bank conditions in France. The following variables were assessed: hematologic and biochemical results, RBC membrane and soluble inflammatory markers, and the proinflammatory potential of HH RBC supernatant toward endothelial cells in an in vitro model.



There were no major differences between the two groups in terms of biophysical, biochemical, or soluble immunomodulatory factors. However, we observed small but significant differences in changes in RBC membrane proteins during storage, including increased phosphatidylserine expression and decreased hemolysis in HH compared with normal RBCs. However, there were no differences in terms of bioactivity of soluble immunomodulatory factors in the RBC supernatant during storage between HH and control donors, as determined by their effects on endothelial cells in vitro.



These in vitro studies suggest that RBCs from HH patients appear, while exhibiting subtle differences, to be suitable for transfusion purposes according to currently accepted criteria.
Etablissement Français du Sang Rhône-Alpes-Auvergne.|Université de Lyon, GIMAP-EA3064.
Caroline
C
Sut
Université de Lyon, GIMAP-EA3064.
Hind
H
Hamzeh-Cognasse
Etablissement Français du Sang Rhône-Alpes-Auvergne.|Université de Lyon, GIMAP-EA3064.
Sandrine
S
Laradi
Etablissement Français du Sang Rhône-Alpes-Auvergne.
Vincent
V
Bost
Etablissement Français du Sang Rhône-Alpes-Auvergne.
Christine
C
Aubrège
Etablissement Français du Sang Rhône-Alpes-Auvergne.
Sophie
S
Acquart
Etablissement Français du Sang Rhône-Alpes-Auvergne.
Martine
M
Vignal
Département de Biochimie Hôpital Nord, CHU de Saint-Etienne, Saint Etienne.
Nadia
N
Boutahar
Etablissement Français du Sang Rhône-Alpes-Auvergne.
Charles Antoine
CA
Arthaud
Etablissement Français du Sang Rhône-Alpes-Auvergne.
Marie
M
Ange Eyraud
Université de Lyon, GIMAP-EA3064.|Département de Microbiologie Hôpital Nord, CHU de Saint-Etienne, Saint Etienne, France.
Bruno
B
Pozzetto
UMR1098, INSERM, Etablissement Français du Sang, Université de Franche-Comté, Besançon, France.|Etablissement Français du Sang, Saint-Denis, France.
Pierre
P
Tiberghien
Université de Lyon, GIMAP-EA3064.|Institut National de Transfusion Sanguine (INTS), Paris, France.
Olivier
O
Garraud
Etablissement Français du Sang Rhône-Alpes-Auvergne.|Université de Lyon, GIMAP-EA3064.
Fabrice
F
Cognasse
D000328:Adult; D001782:Blood Donors; D001793:Blood Preservation; D017707:Erythrocyte Transfusion; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006432:Hemochromatosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D006461:Hemolysis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010718:Phosphatidylserines / Q000096:biosynthesis; D013997:Time Factors
D010718:Phosphatidylserines