Quality Assessment of Established and Emerging Blood Components for Transfusion

Figure 1

Schematic diagram of blood component manufacturing. Donations are either whole blood (left branch) or apheresis (right branch). At left, whole blood donations are processed into red cell concentrates (RCCs), platelet concentrates (PCs), or (transfusable) plasma, with or without leukoreduction by filtration. At right, apheresis donations (A) yield RCC(A), PC(A), or FFPA; some products may be made concurrently (e.g., FFPA and PC(A)). FFP is frozen within 8 hours in some jurisdictions or may be defined by quality control standards in others. FP-type plasma is frozen within 24 hours of phlebotomy. FFP or FFPA may be thawed and stored refrigerated up to 5 days prior to transfusion in some jurisdictions, while RCC or RCC(A) may be refrigerated no more than 42 days and platelets are typically stored at RT for 5–7 days, although FDA allows refrigeration and transfusion of cold-stored platelets for 72 hours; cryopreserved platelets are also under investigation. or FFPA may be further manipulated by drying or pathogen reduction treatment. may be further manipulated, for example, by washing, irradiation, or cryopreservation, in licensed procedures that may reduce shelf-life.