Characterization of blood components separated from donated whole blood after an overnight holding at room temperature with the buffy coat method

BACKGROUND: With buffy coat (BC) processing of whole blood (WB) donations, increase in WB storage time to facilitate overnight holding before the separation of blood components would be a logistically attractive development. This study undertakes a comparative in vitro characterization of blood components prepared from WB samples that were either processed within 8 hours or stored overnight at room temperature before processing by the BC method. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: The WB units (400 mL) collected were either processed within 8 hours (fresh blood) or stored overnight (overnight blood) at room temperature. WB units were separated into individual‐component red blood cells (RBCs), BC, and plasma. The in vitro quality of these blood components (RBCs, pooled platelet concentrates [PCs], and plasma) was analyzed during storage. RESULTS: Levels of 2,3‐diphosphoglycerate (2,3‐DPG) were found to be significantly lower immediately after processing, compared with the fresh WB samples, in RBCs that had been separated from an overnight‐hold sample. However, this difference was not apparent after 14 days of storage. In pooled PCs, measurements for glucose, lactate, PO₂, PCO₂, extent of shape change, and hypotonic shock response were similar. The platelet yield in PCs prepared from an overnight‐hold WB sample was significantly higher, while CD62P expression and annexin V binding were lower (p < 0.05). For frozen plasma (FP), no significant differences were observed for the coagulation factors (F)II, FVII, FV, F IX, FX, and FXI; fibrinogen; and von Willebrand factor content between the 8‐ and 24‐hour FP. The FVIII was the component that was most sensitive to the prolongation of production time and it only had 80% of the activity of the 8‐hour FP. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that blood components (RBCs, pooled PCs, and FP) separated from WB that has been stored overnight at room temperature by the BC method are of acceptable quality.