EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE-VARIATIONS ON CRYOPRECIPITATE

The effect of temperature on Factor VIII levels in blood and cryoprecipitate was assessed. Freshly collected units of blood required several hours to reach 4 C, but this delay seemed of little importance since equal amounts of cryoprecipitated Factor VIII were recovered from blood stored either at 22 C or at 4 C. Freezing at −80, −60, or −40 C produced identical yields of Factor VIII, whereas freezing at −20 C resulted in significantly lower recoveries. This might be expected if one considers the physiochemical changes that occur during the freezing process. 1979 AABB