TITLE:
Storage of Blood for Transfusion in Domestic Refrigerators: Any Immune Consequences?
AUTHORS:
Samuel S. Antwi-Baffour, Ransford Kyeremeh, Alhassan Shaibu, Jonathan Adjei, Mahmood S. Abdulai
KEYWORDS:
Haemolysis, Blood Transfusion, Refrigerator, Plasma, Haemoglobin, Blood Storage
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.2 No.9,
September
25,
2015
ABSTRACT: Background: Blood storage particularly for transfusion is a common practice
among Medical Laboratory Scientists. However, haemolysis of blood during storage is inevitable but the degree of occurrence is largely dependent on the
mode of storage, which has not been fully investigated. Aim: The aim of this study was to measure and compare the extent of haemolysis in blood for transfusion
stored in domestic and medical laboratory refrigerators. Methods: Haemolysis
was compared from day one up to day thirty five of blood storage at an interval
of seven days in domestic and medical laboratory refrigerators. 450 ml of whole
blood from three donors was collected into blood bags. Each blood unit was
divided into two and stored in the different refrigerators. Extent of
haemolysis was determined by expressing the plasma haemoglobin as a percentage
of the total haemoglobin. The student t-test
was used to compare the differences in haemolysis. Results: The level of
haemolysis was similar in both refrigerators at base line (domestic = 0%,
medical = 0%). However at day 35 of storage, the haemolysis was significantly
greater (P = 0.031) in the domestic refrigerator as compared to the medical
laboratory refrigerator (domestic = 3.1% ± 0.4%, medical = 0.9% ± 0.1%). Conclusion:
There was a high degree of haemolysis in the domestic refrigerator than the
medical laboratory refrigerator. The domestic refrigerator therefore does not
meet the quality and the standards required for blood storage for transfusion.