Platelet concentrates from buffy coats: Improved conditions for preparation and evaluation in routine clinical use

Abstract Since 1990, platelet concentrates prepared by soft centrifugation of buffy-coat pools diluted with a glucose-free, commercially available crystalloid solution (BC-PC) are the first choice product for all platelet recipients in our institution. Numerous in vitro and in vivo observations from our own and other laboratories indicate that BC-PC compare favorably to PC prepared from platelet-rich plasma (PRP). In the present in vitro study we evaluated traditional and bottom-and-top bags and modified centrifugation conditions with the aim of increasing in vitro platelet yield in BC-PC. This was 14–18% higher compared with our previous protocol when prolonged centrifugation and bottom-and-top bags were used. In addition, we evaluated post-transfusion platelet count increments in 42 unselected adult hematological patients routinely transfused with 703 1–5 day-old BC-PC pools. Transfusion data were managed with PLATELET, an MS-DOS compatible program which includes automated calculation of transfusion efficacy and periodic patient reports. Mean pre-, 1 h and 24 h post-transfusion platelet counts were 16, 38 and 28 × 10 9 /L, respectively. Mean l h and 24 h post-transfusion platelet count increments, expressed as percentage of expected, were 40 and 24%, respectively. These data were similar to those obtained previously in 189 unselected hematological patients given 2432 PRP-PC transfusions (mean 1 h post-transfusion increment 46% of expected). The present in vitro study confirms that similar platelet yields can be obtained with the BC and PRP methods. In vivo findings show that also in routine conditions post-transfusion increments of PRP-PC and BC-PC are similar. These observations further support previous studies indicating that, due to the better biochemical and metabolic conditions of BC-PC, the use of BC for platelet procurement is a good alternative to methods based on PRP. Large-scale cost analyses are warranted to validate this conclusion.