A hollow‐fibre column system to effectively prepare washed platelets

Background and Objectives We developed a hollow‐fibre column system specifically adapted to prepare washed platelet concentrates ( WPC s). This study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of the hollow‐fibre column system for preparing WPC s. Materials and Methods First, the percentages of platelet ( PLT ) recovery and remaining plasma proteins were calculated by determining the PLT count, volume and plasma protein levels in both the prewash and postwash. Secondly, washed PLT s and unwashed control PLT s were stored for 5 days, and the changes during this 5‐day storage of in vitro PLT characteristics were determined. Results The hollow‐fibre column system effectively removed >98% of plasma in platelet concentrates ( PC s), and the PLT recovery was 97% on an average. The CD 62P‐expression level on washed PLT s immediately after washing was approximately twofold higher than that on prewashed PLT s as well as on PLT s washed via manual methods or cell washing devices. Until day 5 during storage, PLT aggregability, hypotonic shock response and swirling scores of washed PLT s were not significantly different from those of the control PC s. Conclusion Our novel hollow‐fibre column system proved valuable in preparing washed PLT s with <2% of residual plasma proteins and high recovery of PLT s.