(P-BB-62) Postcollection processing of packed RBCs from pig

Background/Case Studies: As the shortage of blood component is a prominent problem in transfusion medicine, xenotransfusion has emerged as a rising topic. In this situation, utilizing pig RBCs (red blood cells) is a suitable alternative to using human RBCs due to several similarities between the two. However, the blood collection and post-collection processing of pig RBCs are less investigated and standardized compared to those of human RBCs.

Study

Design/Methods: GenNbio, located in Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea, will supply packed pig RBCs that will be stored in blood bags and used with a blood transfusion set supplied by Green Cross Medical Science Corp., located in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea. For each cycle, St. Mary’s Hospital located in Seocho-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea will receive a total of 10 packed pig RBCs, which will undergo filtering, washing, and irradiation. The blood product will be filtered and washed using the COBE 2991 Cell Processor (TerumoBCT, Lakewood CO, USA) and irradiated by the RS3400 irradiator (Rad Source Technologies, Atlanta, GA, USA). After filtering, washing, and irradiation, the weight and cell count of the blood product, including white blood cell, RBCs, hemoglobin, hematocrit, platelets, total protein, albumin, sodium, potassium, and chloride will be measured. The Mean, median, 25 and 75 percentiles of each values will be calculated. In addition, the measured values of the processed blood product will be compared to those specified in AABB Technical Manual and AABB Standard.

Results/Findings: The mean weight of pig RBCs was 418.6g initially, and decreased to 360.0g after filtering and 350.1g after washing. The mean white blood cell count of the blood products was 7.018 X 109/L before filtration, and decreased to 0.003 X 109/L after filtration and after washing, 0.005 X 109/L after irradiation. The mean hemoglobin of the blood products was 10.17g/dL before filtration, and decreased to 8.970g/dL after filtration, and increased 9.330g/dL after washing, and decreased 9.130g/dL after irradiation. The mean count of platelet in the blood products was 190.5 X 109/L before filtration, and decreased to 53.50 X 109/L after filtration, and increased to 69.00 X 109/L after washing, and further increased to 78.90 X 109/L after irradiation. The Mean total protein of the blood products was 5.960g/dL before filtration, and increased to 5.980g/dL after filtration, and decreased to 0.210g/dL after washing and irradiation(Table 1).

Conclusions: The result of our postcollection processing met the AABB standard for leukocyte reduction by filtration and washing of red cell components, which requires the white blood cell count less than 8.3X105 per unit and RBCs at least 85% of the original red cells. However, it did not meet the European standards for washed blood components, which requires at least 40g of hemoglobin per unit and less than 0.5g of supernatant protein per unit.

Importance of research: The shortage of blood is worldwide problem of transfusion medicine. If xenotransfusion is established and optimized, insufficient blood supply will be completely solved. This works can be helpful to establish processing protocol of xenotransfusion product.