Comparisons were made of the apheresis instruments Haemonetics Blood
Processor 30, IBM Blood Processor 2997 and Fenwal CS-3000, for collection of platelets
from normal donors. With each instrument the mean recovery was at least 4x10^11 platelets
per procedure, and each instrument afforded a safe and reliable collection. The Haemonetics
Blood Processor gave the lowest recovery of platelets per minute per procedure. The IBM
Blood Processor 2997 required the longest time for set-up and priming and processed 1.5
liters more donor blood per collection than the other instruments. The Fenwal CS-3000,
which is a computer-controlled instrument, was the least time consuming. The donor
suffered a significantly greater drop in platelet count after collection with the IBM Blood
Processor 2997 (31%) than after collection with the other instruments (19%), and we were
unable to account for this observation.