Quality assessment of platelet concentrates: A comparative study using three different methods

Abstract

Background: Blood component therapy is a relatively new concept in developing countries and quality control is the most important parameter to assess the efficacy of each blood component. This study was done to assess ex-vivo quality of platelet concentrates prepared by three different methods. Materials and methods: In our study, a total of 105 platelet concentrates were prepared by three different methods- viz., buffy coat poor-platelet concentrate (BC-PC), platelet rich plasma-platelet concentrate (PRP-PC) and apheresis-PC (PRP-PC, BC-PC and apheresis-PC: 40, 40 and 25 units respectively.) In-vitro quality of platelet concentrates were assessed by observing volume, swirling, platelet count per bag, WBC count per bag and pH changes. Results: BC-PC and PRP-PC units were comparable in terms of swirling, volume, platelet count per unit, WBC contamination and pH. Variation in volume was more in BC-PC. Apheresis-PC units showed better swirling and platelet count. Conclusion: It is concluded that ex-vivo quality of platelet concentrates prepared by BC-PC, PRP-PC and Apheresis-PC are acceptable.