The purpose of this project is several-fold. To document acceptable viability and function of rbc's and platelets following apheresis collection and storage. To determine the feasibility, appropriateness, and cost-effectiveness of harvesting specific blood components from donors by apheresis technology at the time of donation rather than preparing components by subsequent centrifugation of donated units of whole blood. Such a system of immediate preparation and harvesting of blood components will: 1) significantly expand a blood center's ability to respond to inventory shortages of specific components; 2) ensure that each donor visit is used most efficiently; and 3) facilitate donor participation in multiple blood center component collection programs. Although our initial studies have demonstrated the feasibility of collecting two units of red blood cells by apheresis technology per donor visit, and platelet apheresis procedures are accepted practice, adoption of apheresis technology still requires documentation of acceptable viability and function of apheresis stored red cell and platelet products. Assuming that our studies document appropriate viability and function of the stored products, subsequent studies will: 1) determine the best methods of educating donors about these new procedures; 2) evaluate donor acceptance of the technology; and 3) document the most cost-effective methods of incorporating apheresis technology into routine blood center operations. Apheresis technology will not only produce a very flexible system of blood product collection per donor visit, but it will also improve transfusion practice by decreasing each patient's donor exposures per transfusion event thereby reducing both infectious and immunization risks.
| Bolgiano, D C; Smith, S; Slichter, S J (1993) Strategies to recruit plateletpheresis donors from a registry of HLA-typed, unrelated, bone marrow donors. Transfusion 33:675-8 |
| Meyer, D; Bolgiano, D C; Sayers, M et al. (1993) Red cell collection by apheresis technology. Transfusion 33:819-24 |
