Neocyte-enriched blood does not provide a survival advantage for red cells when compared to conventional filtered blood

Abstract

BackgroundandObjectives:Redbloodcell (RBC)concentratesarestoredat1–6C forupto42days, but storage lesionscan leadtowastage. Pooledneocytesmay extendRBCshelf-life, benefitingpatientswhorequire frequent transfusions. This studyaimedtoimprovethelongevityofstoredRBCsbyisolatingneocytesandcomparingtherateofhaemolysis,biochemicalchangesandviabilitywithfilteredblood. Materials andMethods: Thirty filtered units were processed. Neocytes were extracted and enrichedwith saline-adenine- glucose-mannitol. Both filtered and neocyte-enriched unitswere stored for 42days. Sampleswere analysed every 14daysforRBCcount,meancellvolume(MCV),meancellhaemoglobinconcentration(MCHC),haemoglobin,sodiumandsupernatanthaemolysis. Results:Therewasnosignificantdifference inredcell countbetweenfilteredand neocyte-enrichedunits (p=0.27).Bothtypesshowed increasedmeancorpuscular volume anddecreasedMCHCover the42days, withno significant differences observed (p≥0.05). Sodiumlevels inthesupernatantdecreasedwhilepercentage supernatanthaemolysisincreasedsteadilyinbothunits,albeitwithoutsignificantdifferences(p≥0.05).Thehaemoglobinremainedstableforbothunittypes. Conclusion: Overall, neocyte-enriched blood did not demonstrate any longevity advantagecomparedtopre-storedleucocyte-reducedRBCsusingtheconventional manual collectionmethod.Thesefindingsalignwithpreviousstudiesusingvarious neocytecollectionmethods. Feasibilitywashighlightedas themainchallenge, as manyofthesemethodshaveproventooexpensiveandlaborious.