THE ELIMINATION OF HYDROXYETHYL STARCH FROM THE BLOOD OF DONORS EXPERIENCING SINGLE OR MULTIPLE INTERMITTENT-FLOW CENTRIFUGATION LEUKAPHERESIS

The elimination of hydroxyethyl starch (HES) from donor blood was studied following either single or multiple intermittent-flow centrifugation leukapheresis. Immediately following pheresis, serum HES concentrations fell rapidly. The rate of elimination then slowed with trace amounts of HES persisting for weeks. Pharmacokinetic analysis using a 2-compartment open model revealed an average distribution half-life and terminal half-life of 3.84 and 48 days, respectively. After multiple phereses, HES accumulated in serum. Although the pattern of elimination was similar, the persistence of HES was more protracted, with the serum level predicted to reach the baseline at 72 wk postpheresis vs. 38 wk after a single pheresis. The importance in regards to toxicity, if any, of the persistence of trace amounts of HES in donor blood is presently unknown.