We clinically used thawed red blood cell concentrates during cardiac surgery, after we experimentally recognized Poloxamer 188 to reduce serum free hemoglobin level in the extracorporeal circulation using thawed red blood cell concentrates. We primed extracorporeal circuit by thawed red blood cell concentrates, Poloxamer 188 and usual other solutions (subject group, N=8). The examinations of the serum free hemoglobin level and other serum chemistries were investigated postoperatively. The serum free hemoglobin level and the hemolysis starting point of osmotic fragility test of erythrocytes with coil planet centrifuge method were comparatively higher level (65.6±18.5mg/dl, 102.1±4.3mOsm.) immediately after operation than control group (cases using fresh whole blood), although returned normal level after one postoperative day. And renal failures due to hemolysis were not seen in both groups. The postoperative liver dysfunction was recognized 3 cases in control group, but none in subject group.
We concluded that the extracorporeal circulation using Poloxamer 188 and thawed red blood cell concentrates will be usefull to minimized the hemolysis and the infection by blood transfusions and that smooth blood supply will be expected at a time of the emergent operation by using thawed red blood cell concentrates.

View full abstract

Lymphocyte-rich plasma obtained with a centrifugal cell separator was fractionated in 5-6ml and lymphocyte subsets were measured in each fraction. During the process of lymphocyte fractionation, the percentages of OKT3 (+)- and OKT4 (+)-lymphocytes were gradually increased but those of OKT8 (+)- and OKB7 (+)-lymphocytes were gradually decreased. The ratios of OKT3/OKB7 and OKT4/OKT8 were remarkably and progressively increased. Extent of those variation was influenced by the hematocrit of donor blood. Variation of the specific gravity of lymphocyte subsets seems to lead to their relative separation in lymphocytapheresis.

View full abstract

A gentler method for preparing platelet concentrate (PC) was devised to avoid the harmful steps of pelleting and resuspending platelets. In the first step of this method platelets in whole blood are concentrated in the bully coat layer by high-speed centrifugation (3, 520g, 5min) without being sedimented into a platelet button. In the second step, contaiminating leukocytes and red blood cells in the bully coat are precipitated by very low-speed centrifugation (180g, 3min), while the lighter platelets remain in the supernatant plasma. Thus, this method was named the “non-button PC” method. The principal advantage of the method is that it does not involve a resuspending step. Platelets prepared by the nonbutton PC method retained high in vitro functional activity as evaluated by the ATP release reaction. Leakage of cytosolic contents (LDH discharge) remained low during preparation indicating that the nonbutton PC were less damaged than PC prepared by the conventional method. In addition, this method permits removal of the bully coat from red blood cells at the same time in a closed system.

View full abstract