Effects Of High-Yield Thrombocytapheresis On The Quality Of Platelet Products

BACKGROUND: The steadily increasing demands for single-donor apheresis platelet (PLT) concentrates (APCs) are a challenge to the PLT supply system. Therefore, efforts to improve plateletpheresis yield, allowing apheresis products to be split into 2 or more units, are valuable strategies. No data to demonstrate in vivo transfusion efficacy of these high-yield split-APCs are currently available, however.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: The transfusion efficacy of APCs produced by two apheresis methods involving different harvest and storing procedures and varying PLT yields was investigated. Efficacy measures were the 1-hour percent PLT recovery (PPR1h) and the 1-hour corrected count increment (CCI1h). In total, 400 APCs, produced with either an Amicus device (Baxter) and stored in PLT additive solution (T-Sol; Amicus method [AM], n = 107) or a Trima device (Gambro) and stored in plasma (Trima method [TM], n = 293), were transfused to 55 children (31 girls; median age, 9.5 years; range, 0.2-18.5 years) with thrombocytopenia due to chemotherapy or aplastic anemia (median, 4 APCs per child; range, 1-68).RESULTS: Transfusion efficacy was significantly lower for AM-APCs than for TM-APCs (median PPR1h, 17 and 33%; median CCI1h, 7.9 and 15.6, respectively; p < 0.001). Reduced transfusion efficacy correlated in a yield-dependent manner with high apheresis PLT yields (>= 6x10(11)) for AM-APCs (p < 0.001).CONCLUSION: Although in vitro validation of AM-and TM-APCs has been performed, only by evaluating transfusion efficacy in vivo did the AM turn out to be not suitable for high-yield thrombocytapheresis. This study recommends the implementation of in vivo transfusion efficacy studies for high-yield APC apheresis donations.