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Abstract

Platelets are a blood component which is used as a transfusion product for many years, for prophylactic purposes, to oncology patients and to patients with hematological malignancies while at the same time they represent a very important product concerning patients suffering from active bleeding. Platelets are stored at 22°C – 24°C with constant agitation, while having a lifespan between 5 – 7 days. The conditions under they are stored are causing various problems to blood banks, as they have a very limited lifespan. In addition they have a high risk of bacterial contamination which results to an extended waste of platelets. Furthermore the need for platelets to be distributed to remoted areas, while taking into consideration their constant need for agitation makes their transfer particularly difficult. These problems in combination with the percentage of patients who need a platelet transfusion either for prophylactic purposes or in cases of bleeding it is necessary to find a safe and effective product to reduce the accounting problem created in the blood banks. The storage of platelets at 2°C - 4°C without agitation is a method that allows to extend the life of the product to 8 - 10 days, to reduce the chances of bacterial contamination while also facilitating the transport of the product. Numerous studies have been performed to determine whether frozen platelets are effective and safe to be used as a transfusion product against platelets stored at room temperature. The results of these experiments show that frozen platelets have a shorter lifespan in the bloodstream of patients and therefore are not the best product for prophylactic use compared to platelets stored at room temperature. In contrast to the above results, cold-stored platelets are a fairly improved product in terms of their hemostatic activity, providing stronger clots, faster aggregation and adhesion response than platelets stored at room temperature, making them a rather promising product.