The aim of this study was to compare the clinical effect of transfusion of platelet concentrates (PC) prepared from pooled buffy coats (BC) and PCs collected from a single donor (SD) by an apheresis technique. The influence of storage time and various clinical conditions was also studied. Thirty-two patients suffering from haematological malignancies were given a total of 326 platelet concentrates; 180 BC-PCs and 146 SD-PCs, median 7 transfusions per patient. BC-PCs contained 312 +/- 52 x 10(9) and SD-PCs 383 +/- 133 x 10(9) platelets/unit (mean +/- SD). The mean storage time of BC-PC was 3 d and that of SD-PC 1 d. The mean platelet count of the patients before transfusion was 11 +/- 8 x 10(9)/L. Regression analysis showed a significant decrease of the post-transfusion platelet corrected count increment (CCI) during storage of PCs for 1-5 d (BC-PC: p < 0.01; SD-PC: p < 0.05). There was no difference in platelet increment between BC-PC and SD-PC. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alloimmunization was the major cause of clinical refractoriness to random donor platelet transfusions but splenomegaly also caused low CCI values.
Adolescent Adult