ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Fresh frozen plasma (FFP) should be thawed in a water bath at 30-37 degrees C. Suitable temperature, the prevention for bacterial contamination, and the efficiency of the process are necessary for a thawing procedure. In this study, we compared the clotting factor activity and thawing time in different thawing procedures; a water bath, the thermostatic thawing chamber (FP-40, Hokuyo ; Kawasumi, Japan), and the microwave system (Transfusio-therm 2000 AMCO; Zeipel, Germany). METHODS: Thawing time and the clotting factor activity (prothrombin time: PT, prothrombin time-international normalized ratio: PT-INR, activated partial thromboplastin time: APTT, fibrinogen, andfactors V) of thawed FFP-5 units were measured. RESULTS: Thawing time using Transfusio-therm 2000 was 11.4 minutes, which was faster than that using the water bath and FP-40 of about 39.5 and 27.3 minutes, respectively (P<0.01). There were no differences between the three methods in terms of the clotting factors. CONCLUSIONS: The microwave system is useful in shortening the time safety, and maintaining the clotting factor activity in thawed FFP
