Comparative Study on Some Biochemical Parameters in Stored Whole Blood in Standard Blood Bank and Traditional Refrigerator

Abstract

Whole blood or any of its components is stored for the purpose of future transfusion. To ensure therapeutic relevance of the product, strict adherence to instructions and procedures on the operation of a blood bank is crucial. Storage outside the stipulated temperatures could lead to biochemical changes that may reduce the therapeutic value. This study aims at evaluating the in vitro effect of storage on selected biochemical parameters (Na + , K + , Cl - , HCO3 - , Total protein, Albumin, Ca 2+ , pH, Glucose and Hemoglobin concentration) in citrate phosphate dextrose adenine (CPDA-1) whole blood stored in a Standard Blood Bank (SBB) and compare values with those stored in a Traditional Refrigerator (TR). A total of 37 apparently healthy volunteer donor subjects were used for the study. Twenty donors donated 450mL of whole blood each into CPDA-1 blood bags and were stored in a standard blood bank, while 17 units were collected from 17 donors into the same type of anticoagulant/preservatives but instead stored in a traditional refrigerator. Both refrigerators and standard blood bank were allowed the same relatively stable power supply for 35 days. Five milliliters of blood was taken at intervals of 7 days (1, 7, 14, 21, 28, and 35) from each of the bags for both SBB and TR methods of refrigeration and analyzed for ten parameters. It was observed that for both SBB and TR, K + levels increased from the 1 st to the 35 th day. K + levels for TR were significantly higher than those of SBB for days 7 (F=17.256, p= 0.000), 14 (F= 10.358, p= 0.000), 21 (F= 14.381, p= 0.000), 28 (F= 4.810, p= 0.000) and 35 (F=0.499, p=0.000). This statistically shows that the rise in K + level was more in TR refrigeration. Plasma Na + levels generally decreased for both groups. Comparison showed that Na + values for SBB were significantly higher than those of TR refrigeration for Days 7 (F= 1.684, p= 0.027) and 14 (F= 1.623, p= 0.009). Bicarbonate, albumin, pH, chloride and glucose levels for both groups were observed to decrease with storage time. Significant decreases were observed for Cl - and HCO3 - for Day 7 (F= 17.019, p= 0.000 and F= 0.404, p= 0.035 respectively), Cl - only for Day 14 and 21 (F= 3.253, p= 0.000 and F= 2.112, p= 0.000 respectively), albumin and glucose for Day 35 (F= 2.541, p= 0.036 and F= 1.272, p= 0.039 respectively) when mean values for SBB and TR were compared. Other parameters for the different days were not significant. Mean total protein levels for SBB and TR were significant for Days 7 (F= 13.136, p= 0.011); 14 (F= 9.842, p= 0.011); 21 (F= 6.344, p= 0.015) and 28 (F= 8.137, p= 0.035), while no significant difference was observed on the last day. The results show that there were significant changes in the levels of almost all ten parameters at different weeks of storage and the changes were more in the units stored in the traditional refrigerator and this could pose a very high health risk to the recipient on transfusion.