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The Effect of Apheresis on the Donors’ Platelets
Author(s) -
Garner S. F.,
Jones C. I.,
Angenent W.,
Bernard A.,
Carr P.,
Rankin A.,
Stephens J.,
Tom B. D.,
Walton J.,
Dudbridge F.,
Ouwehand W. H.,
Goodall A. H.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
transfusion medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.471
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1365-3148
pISSN - 0958-7578
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3148.2006.00694_3.x
Subject(s) - apheresis , platelet , fibrinogen , medicine , whole blood , blood donor , donation , immunology , andrology , chemistry , economics , economic growth
Many studies have investigated the effects of donation processes on the activation state of platelet concentrates. Apheresis platelets are often found to be the least activated products. However, little is known about the immediate or long‐term effects of frequent apheresis on donors’ platelets. This question was addressed in a cohort of donors in the BLOODOMICS research project, comprising 157 whole blood donors who had donated twice on average (range 1–4), and 349 apheresis donors with an average of 10 donations (range 1–25), in the previous year. Method The activation status of the platelets in the donors was determined from the percentage on platelets with bound fibrinogen, by whole‐blood flow cytometry. The immediate effect of apheresis on circulating platelets was studied in 10 donors in samples taken from the arm, pre and post donation, measuring platelet‐bound fibrinogen in unstimulated blood samples and in response to in vitro stimulation with ADP (10‐7M). The long‐term effect of apheresis was assessed by measuring fibrinogen binding to platelets in unstimulated blood, and in response to ADP (10‐7M) and cross‐linked collagen related peptide (XL‐CRP, 0.1μg/mL) activation prior to donation. Results Apheresis did not have a consistent immediate effect on resting platelet activation: pre‐donation bound fibrinogen levels ranged from 2.69–7.63% positive platelets (mean 4.41%) and post donation levels ranged from 1.46–9.66% (mean 4.71) (p=0.71). ADP induced fibrinogen binding levels ranged from 11.6–41.4% (mean 30.7%) prior to donation and decreased post donation in 8/10 cases, with values ranging from 6.74–43.6% (mean 23.45%) (p=0.024). The long‐term effect of apheresis was assessed by comparing the results of apheresis and whole blood donors. For all donors resting bound fibrinogen levels ranged from 0.51% to 6.96% positive, with no significant difference between the whole blood and apheresis donors (p=0.69). Responses to ADP did not differ between the two groups, but the apheresis donors showed a 4.01±1.8% (P=0.03) increase in fibrinogen binding in response to XL‐CRP. Conclusion Apheresis does not lead to short‐ or long‐term platelet activation. However, prior to donation, apheresis donors show slightly higher responses to XL‐CRP than whole blood donors. This may reflect an increase in circulating younger, more active platelets.