Cryopreservation of human blood products

The studies performed at the NBRL over the past 40 years have demonstrated that the -80 °C mechanical freezer is the most economical way to preserve RBC, platelets, pluripotential hematopoietic mononuclear cells, and plasma to supplement the liquid preserved blood products to treat patients subjected to hemorrhagic shock and irradiation injury. Frozen blood products can be safely shipped at -80 °C using insulated containers and dry ice. The -80 °C mechanical freezer allows for freezing of these blood products without the need for liquid nitrogen and controlled rate freezers to control the rate of freezing at 1 °C per minute. The FDA has approved the storage of RBC frozen with 40% W/V glycerol at -80 °C for 10 years, as well as the use of the automated functionally closed Haemonetics ACP215 instrument. After thawing and washing, these RBC can be stored at 4 °C in AS-3 for 2 weeks. Single donor non-leukoreduced and leukoreduced platelets treated with 6% DMSO, concentrated to remove the supernatant DMSO, frozen at -80 °C can be stored at -80 °C for 2 years. Leukapheresed ficoll hypaque-isolated pluripotential hematopoietic mononuclear cells treated with 10% DMSO, concentrated to remove the supernatant DMSO, and frozen at -80 °C can be stored at -80 °C for 1 frac(1, 2) years, and FFP can be stored at -80 °C for 14 years. The thawed DMSO frozen platelet concentrates and the thawed DMSO frozen mononuclear cell concentrates can be diluted without post-thaw washing prior to transfusion. The FFP can be stored after thawing at 22 °C for 6 h and at 4 °C for 18 h prior to transfusion. The frozen blood products stored at -80 °C (group O Rh positive and group O Rh negative RBC, group O platelets, AB plasma, and ABO, Rh, and HLA pluripotential hematopoietic mononuclear cells) are important not only for contingency and inventory control when liquid preserved blood products are at low or non-existent levels but also as critical treatment for military and civilian patients suffering from hemorrhagic shock and irradiation injury. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.