Survival and recovery of apheresis platelets stored in a polyolefin container with high oxygen permeability

Background and Objectives Oxygen permeability is important in platelet storage media. We compared a new polyolefin container with enhanced oxygen permeability (PO-80; Kawasumi, Tokyo, Japan) to a widely used alternative (PL2410; Baxter Healthcare, Deerfield, IL, USA). Materials and Methods In vitro characteristics of paired platelet concentrates (PCs; mean 4·2 × 10 11 /25O ml plasma/bag) stored in PO-80 or PL2410 were assessed through 9 days of storage. In vivo recovery and survival of 7-day-old autologous PCs were assessed according to the Murphy method. Results Laboratory assessment of platelet quality favoured PO-80 during 9 days of storage with statistically significant differences in glucose consumption (2-75 vs. 4-93 mmol/10 12 /24 h in the interval 120-168 h), lactate generation (4-37 vs. 8·11 mmol/10 12 /24 h in the interval 120-168 h), pressure of oxygen (pO 2 ) (59·3 vs. 38·1 mmHg at day 1), and HCO - 3 (14-7 vs. 13·4 mmol/l at day 1). Statistically significant differences were not seen in aggregation, hypotonic shock response or pH. In vivo assessment of autologous platelets stored 7 days in the PO-80 container revealed that recovery was 82·1% and survival was 81·0% of fresh control. Seven-day stored PCs in PO-80 were shown in vivo to be non-inferior to fresh platelets, with upper confidence limits (UCL 95 ) in recovery and survival of stored PCs below the maximum acceptable difference (MAD); 15-3% UCL 95 < 20·4% MAD and 2·1 days UCL 95 < 2-1 days MAD. Conclusions The in vitro characteristics of PCs stored in a highly oxygen-permeable container were stable at least 7 days. The in vivo study supports the suitability of PO-80 for 7-day platelet storage.