The effectiveness of donated blood depends significantly on the mode of its storage. Know the practical ways of storing donated blood.
Donated blood can save lives. But, the effectiveness of donated blood depends on how you store it.
When it comes to receiving donated blood, patients can receive a pint of whole blood or specific components of blood depending on their condition. It is known as the blood component therapy that can benefit patients from a single pint of donated blood.
Components of Whole Blood
Before going into the details of donated blood storing procedures, let us walk through the various components of donated blood:
Whole Blood
Platelets, red cells and white cells are the primary components of whole blood. It is the simplest and common form of blood donation. Doctors use whole blood when patients have sustained substantial blood loss because of surgery or trauma and need all blood components.
Red Blood Cells
Red blood cells, or erythrocytes, deliver oxygen from your lungs to the entire body and carbon dioxide back to your lungs. Red blood cells give blood the red color, and bone marrow produces the cells.
Platelets
Platelets are small cell fragments in your blood. Bone marrow makes them and are colorless. They perform the primary function of sticking to your blood vessel lining to prevent bleeding.
Plasma
It is the liquid component of your blood that suspends all the cellular components of blood. Its color varies from bright green to pale yellow, depending on the person. It comprises around 55 percent of your total blood volume. Water is the principal component of blood plasma, with approximately 90 percent in proportion. And the remaining 10 percent are substances dissolved in water, such as electrolytes, plasma proteins, and low-molecular substances, like vitamins, hormones, and trace elements. Plasma does not contain clotting factors or blood serum. Instead, it acts as a medium to transport the cellular components.
Granulocytes
Granulocytes are a kind of white cell. They can surround and destroy viruses and bacteria. Thus, they can guard your body against infection. Doctors use granulocytes to treat conditions that do not respond to antibiotics. An automated process known as apheresis is used to gather granulocytes. But, there is an important thing to note. Granulocytes should be transfused within 24 hours of blood donation.
Cryo
Cryo is a constituent of plasma. It has clotting elements, like fibrinogen and Factor VIII. And they reduce blood loss by retarding bleeding caused by injury or illness.
White Blood Cells
You can regard white blood cells as your body’s defense system against diseases. They are also called leukocytes, which produce antibodies against viruses and bacteria. While some destroy bacteria, some fight malignant disease. Despite white blood cells protecting you from infections, they can be dangerous if you receive donated blood that carries viruses. In such cases, your immune system can become weak, and viruses can release toxic substances into your body. Therefore, leukocytes are usually removed from transfusable blood through leuko-reduction to prevent adverse outcomes.
How to Store Donated Blood?
Now, let us understand how blood banks store donated blood. Read on:
Red Blood Cells
Specialists take out the plasma from the whole blood to prepare red blood cells. Usually, red blood cells can have a shelf life of 42 days. The shelf life also depends on the used anticoagulant. Red blood cells should be stored and transported in refrigerated conditions. Moreover, specialists can freeze red blood cells for more than ten years.
Platelets
Specialists prepare platelets from donated whole blood through a centrifuge method. They also separate plasma rich in platelets from donated whole blood using the method. Finally, they combine platelets from a few different donors to make one transfusable unit.
Another way through which specialists can prepare platelets is through an apheresis device. It takes out blood from the donor’s arm, separates the blood into its components, retains some of the platelets, and returns the remaining blood to the donor.
Platelets can be stored for up to five days at room temperature. But, they should be provided with gentle agitation to restrict them from clumping.
Blood Plasma
Specialists store blood plasma in hermetically sealed containers in the frozen state. They should ensure that there are no gelatinous or solid substances in the stored blood plasma. Plasma’s quality can degrade due to its protein activity. Also, excessive temperatures during storage and transportation can negatively impact blood plasma quality. You cannot use transfused plasma beyond 24 months. It will help if specialists use a blood plasma freezer for the purpose.
Conclusion
We believe that this article helps discover the ways of effectively storing donated blood. In addition, the article also allows you to know the different blood components.
