In vitro quality parameters of whole blood-derived platelets pooled using two different platelet pooling sets and stored up to 7 days are similar

Background: Increasing the number of collections of whole blood-derived platelets (WBDP) and lengthening the allowable storage time may alleviate platelet (PLT) shortages. There is a need for new PLT pooling sets that can provide acceptable quality on Day 7 of storage.

Study design and methods: This pool-and-split study compared WBDP prepared using the platelet-rich plasma method with the novel IMUGARD WB PLT pooling set and a control pooling set. After pooling and filtration, PLT products were tested on Days 1, 5, and 7. Large volume delayed sampling (LVDS) cultures were taken on Day 2.

Results: The median postfiltration residual white blood cell (rWBC) content was 0.18 million per product (maximum 1.26 million; n = 69) with mean PLT recovery of 88.5 ± 2.8% for the new set and median 0.23 million (maximum 1.83 million) rWBC with 87.5 ± 2.5% recovery for the control. Day 5 mean pH_22°C were 7.18 ± 0.12 and 7.13 ± 0.10 for the new and control set, respectively. Day 5 in vitro quality parameters were within 20% between the two pooling sets. The new set Day 7 pH_22°C was acceptable (7.07 ± 0.17, 100% ≥ 6.3), and most parameters were within 20% of Day 5 values.

Conclusion: WBDP quality for the new pooling set is acceptable across a battery of in vitro tests when stored up to 7 days and meets FDA regulatory criteria. The quality parameters were similar between the new pooling set and the control set on Day 5. This new set is compatible with LVDS.