A Method for Preparing Buffy Coat-Poor Blood for Transfusion

Abstract

Transplant recipients previously sensitized to leukocytes and platelets by pregnancy and transfusion are subject to hyperacute allograft rejection after transplantation. Current methods for preparing buffy coat-poor blood for transfusion utilize differential centrifugation, filtration of heparinized whole blood, or sedimentation of the red blood cells in the presence of dextran. The average removal of leukocytes with these methods is 70-85%. The procedure described in the present paper increases leukocyte and platelet removal to 96% by passing blood that has been sedimented in the presence of dextran through nylon fibre filters. It is suggested that the technique is an effective method for preparation of buffy coatpoor blood for prospective allograft recipients.

Leukocyte-Poor CPD Blood

“…Elimination of plasma and buffy coat after filtration and short centri fugation of fresh CPD blood yields a product that compares favorably with the results of other more complicated deleukocytation methods [1,3,5,7,9,11,12], Even platelets are removed efficiently in this way. The procedure can be carried out with commercially available equipment by any blood bank technician and does not take more than 30 min once the blood has been drawn.…”

“…Differential centrifugation, sedimentation with high molecular additives or saline washing of red cells alone do not remove enough leukocytes to avoid HL-A immuni sation of recipients by a single unit of blood. Combinations of these methods in the hands of expert blood fractionists yield satisfactory results [1,3,5,7,9,11], but the procedures are time-consuming, not very reliable and often involve a high contamination risk. Frozen blood, of course, seems to be the solution to the problem, but it is not as yet available in every regional blood transfusion center.…”

Comparison of Inverted Centrifugation, Saline Washing, and Dextran Sedimentation in the Preparation of Leukocyte‐Poor Red Cells

“…head at 4,500 rpm (5,230 x g) for seven minutes. Eighty per cent of the erythrocyte content on a weight basis, calculated by the following formula, was then transferred to another plastic bag.…”