ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: The objective of the present study was to describe the experience of the Blood and Tissues Bank of Aragon with the Reveos® Automated Blood Processing System and Mirasol® Pathogen Reduction Technology (PRT) System, comparing retrospectively routine quality data obtained in two different observation periods. METHODS: Comparing quality data encompassing 6,525 blood components from the period 2007-2012, when the semi-automated buffy coat method was used in routine, with 6,553 quality data from the period 2014-2019, when the Reveos system and subsequently the Mirasol system were implemented in routine. RESULTS: Moving from buffy coat to Reveos led to decreased discard rates of whole blood units (1.2 to 0.1%), increased hemoglobin content (48.1 ± 7.6 to 55.4 ± 6.6 g/unit), and hematocrit (58.9 ± 6.5% to 60.0 ± 4.9%) in red blood cell concentrates. Platelet concentrates (PCs) in both periods had similar yields (3.5 ×1011). Whereas in the earlier period, PCs resulted from pooling 5 buffy coats, in the second period 25% of PCs were prepared from 4 interim platelet units. The mean level of factor VIII in plasma was significantly higher with Reveos (92.8 vs. 97.3 IU). Mirasol PRT treatment of PCs reduced expiry rates to 1.2% in 2019. One septic transmission was reported with a non-PRT treated PCs, but none with PRT-treated PCs. CONCLUSION: Automation contributed to standardization, efficiency, and improvement of blood processing. Released resources enabled the effortless implementation of PRT. The combination of both technologies guaranteed the self-sufficiency and improvement of blood safety.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Applying pathogen reduction technologies (PRT) to platelets can extend their shelf life from 5 to 7 days, but there have been few systematic studies of the repercussions of such technologies on outdate rates. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The benefits in terms of outdate rates of applying PRT to platelets are studied via a mathematical simulation. Specifically, statistical methods are used to determine the daily production rate needed to meet demand while not exceeding a maximum amount set as a result of limitations on donations and while assuring a minimum daily stock. RESULTS: The results show that a 2-day extension in the shelf life of platelet concentrates (PC) results in reductions in outdates ranging from 88·4% to 100% at the production centres analysed. It may be the case for budgetary reasons that only part of the PCs produced can be treated. This being so, we show that if the proportion treated per annum exceeds 25% the best option is to treat part of the output every day, otherwise, it is preferable to concentrate treatment on the last two production days of the week. CONCLUSIONS: Extending the shelf life of PC from five to seven days and setting up suitable production logistics can drastically reduce outdates at production centres. If only a part of all PCs is treated, the best choices are to distribute PRT overall production days or, if the percentage of PCs treated is very low, to apply PRT on the days preceding the weekend break.