Quality assessment of platelet concentrates prepared by platelet rich plasma-platelet concentrate and buffy coat -platelet concentrate

Background: Two types of platelet concentrates (PC) are available, Random donor platelets (RDP) which is collected as a co-product of whole blood donation while Single donor platelets (SDP or Apheresis-PC) is collected from voluntary donors with the help of automated cell separator. RDPs can be separated by two methods, Platelet rich plasma method (PRP-PC) and Buffy coat poor method (BC-PC) .In our hospital, Platelet concentrates were usually prepared by PRP method and recently Buffy coat method has been introduced. This study focuses on in-vitro quality assessment between PRP-PCs and BC-PCs so that if BC-PCs are superior, the Buffy coat method can be fully implemented for the benefit of patients. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective study done from March 2016 to August 2016 at Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. A total of 48 platelet concentrates (24 units of PRP-PC and 24 units of BC-PC) were selected randomly and tested for quality at the end of expiry. 2-3 mL of samples were collected from the selected platelet bags in plain test tubes using aseptic precautions and tested for the following parameters: 1. Volume of PC. 2. Swirling. 3. Platelet count per bag. 4. Leukocyte count per bag. 5. pH changes. Results: A total of 48 platelet concentrates (24 of PRP-PC, 24 of BC-PC) were enrolled inthis study. The mean volume of PRP-PC and BC-PC was 65.1±3.0 ml and 79.5±5.3 ml respectively. The mean platelet count of PRP-PC and BC-PC was 5.5 x 1010±0.2 and 8.2x 1010 ±0.7 respectively. The mean WBC count in PRP-PC and BC-PC was 14.7x 107 ± 12.6 and 0.7 x 107± 0.1 respectively. All units were analyzed for pH changes. The mean pH was 6.9 ± 0.1(PRP-PC) and 6.5± 0.1(BC-PC). Conclusion: Our study, in concordance with similar studies, proved that even though BC-PC and PRP-PC fulfilled the desired quality control parameters, Buffy coat platelets were superior to PRP platelets in terms of increased platelet count, PC volume and decreased leukocyte count. There was reduced production related damage and improved platelet quality during storage, with BC-PC. It would be prudent to shift from PRP-PC to BC-PC method in whole blood component separation as the benefits like increased platelet yield, better quality platelets, reduced bacterial contamination and cost-effectiveness overweigh the reduction in packed red cell volume.