in-vitro red blood cells integrity and morphology changes after passing through volumetric peristaltic infusion pump

background: it is not clear whether the use of volumetric peristaltic infusion pumps, affect the quality of the erythrocytes during packed cell transfusion or not. in the present study in vitro quality of red blood cells was assessed after using this type of infusion pumps in a prospective study. materials and methods: in this study 60 units of packed red cells were examined before and after passing through volumetric peristaltic infusion pumps. the shelf life of each bag was up to 7 days, and the transfusion rate was set to 40 milliliter/hour. pre- and post- infusion pump samples were analyzed for erythrocyte morphology and hemoglobin, potassium, lactate dehydrogenase and bilirubin levels. samples obtained before the blood going through the infusion pumps were considered as the reference. results: infusion pump did not significantly increased the free hemoglobin, potassium, total bilirubin and lactate dehydrogenase increment, or fragmentation of the red blood cells, compared to the reference. conclusion: due to insignificant increase in free hemoglobin caused by erythrocyte destruction after passing through the volumetric peristaltic pumps in this in-vitro study, we suggest that these pumps can be safely used for transfusion of fresh packed cells. however clinical in-vivo studies on children and neonates are strongly recommended to ensure the safety and effectiveness of this new method of transfusion. keywords: infusion, blood, transfusion, hemolysis, erythrocytes.