No abstract

A study of the storage of whole blood presents numerous problems in the field of cellular physiology. An understanding and solution of these problems can be of great aid in prolonging the viability of red cells of stored blood.A major part of the problem centers around experimental studies on the influence of a number of environmental factors on survival. The more important factors are: temperature, range and optimum; degree of dilution; tonicity of the diluent; composition of the diluent; ion balance, maintenance of the colloidal osmotic pressure; pH range and optimum; buffer systems; glucose and rate of glycolysis; acid metabolite formation.