Effects of anticoagulants and storage on granulocyte function in bank blood.

Storage of granulocytes for transfusion has not showed no functional impairment after 24 hr of been practical because it has been considered storage at 4#{176}C. With further storage, all granuthat granulocyte function in bank blood is relocytes showed a loss of NBT activity. Howtamed for only a few hours after collection. In ever, after 48 and 72 hr. granulocytes from the present study, granulocyte function was whole blood stored in ACD and CPD killed the valuated using the bactericidal assay and the expected number of bacteria in the bactericidal quantitative nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) assay. Thus, when tested in vitro, granulocytes method. Granulocytes from whole blood colmaintain normal function, at least during the lected into acid citrate dextrose (ACD), citrate first 24 hr after collection when stored in cerphosphate dextrose (CPD), heparin, ion extam anticoagulants under standard blood bank change, and sodium citrate anticoagulants conditions. T RANSFUSION OF GRANULOCYTES in clinical situations has been hampered by the difficulty in collecting sufficient numbers of granulocytes from routine blood donors and by an inability to store granulocytes. Granulocyte collection has become more practical by the use of the continuous flow centrifuge”2 and by filtration leukapheresis.3’4 Yields of 1010 to greater than leukocytes are now obtained, and transfusions of these cells have resulted in increases in peripheral blood granulocyte count, lysis of fever, and possibly improved survival rates in gram-negative bacteremia. 7 The increasing importance of leukocyte transfusion and the development of methods for procurement of large numbers of leukocytes make it imperative that more information be obtained concerning granulocyte preservation. Earlier studies8’#{176} have shown that during storage, the total leukocyte count decreases; this decrease is due to the degeneration of the granulocytes with only mononuclear cells remaining after 21 days of storage. There were also indications that bactericidal activity of whole blood is preserved during 5-7 days of storage.9 Despite these studies, it has been thought that the bactericidal capacity of granulocytes was maintained in bank blood for only a few hours.”2 Kaplan et al.’3 have shown that granu-