The effects of reinflation on the survival of time-expired stored rabbit erythrocytes in vivo.

Abstract

Rabbit blood cells stored for prolonged periods in citrate phosphate dextrose with adenine (CPDA-1) at +4 degrees C show the same decreased volume, increased cell density and decreased filterability as human cells stored under similar conditions. As with human erythrocytes, the stored rabbit cells had to be incubated with autologous fresh plasma for 24 h at 37 degrees C before these changes could be observed (this incubation process apparently mimics the effects of reinfusion). These shrunken stored rabbit cells could also be reinflated using nystatin, so that their mean cell volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration, average cell densities and filterabilities were restored to normal values. This in vitro reinflation of the stored cells significantly prolonged their in vivo survival rate as determined by radiochromium labelling studies. This reinflation technique may therefore have an application in the prolongation of the useful storage life of human blood.