IN-VITRO PLATELET-FUNCTION DURING STORAGE IN 3 DIFFERENT ADDITIVE SOLUTIONS

Three different synthetic media without glucose were studied for plate let storage. The first medium contained acetate and gluconate. The sec ond contained acetate, gluconate and citrate. Finally the third contai ned phosphate and mannitol. The purpose of the study was to investigat e whether there were differences among the various media in terms of p reservation of platelet quality. Pools of platelet concentrates were p repared from huffy coats. In vitro function and metabolic parameters w ere measured during 5 days of storage in these additive solutions as w ell as in plasma. Platelet aggregation, hypotonic shock response and r elease of beta-thromboglobulin, platelet factor 4 and lactate dehydrog enase of the cytosol were equivalent in the media containing acetate c ompared to plasma storage. In vitro platelet functions and pH in these two media were better preserved compared to the medium with phosphate and mannitol. In addition bacteriological studies using platelets sus pended in additive solutions or in plasma were carried out. Carryover of 20% of plasma to the synthetic media necessary for successful plate let storage in these additive solutions allows bacteriological growth. As shown, inoculation of 1 colony/ml Staphylococcus epidermidis leads to 10(6)-10(7) organisms/ml after 5 days of storage.