Blood, 1959, Vol. 14, No. 4, pp. 456-475.
© 1959 American Society of Hematology, Inc.
Preserved Platelets: Their Preparation,
Storage and Clinical Use
JAMES L. TULLIS 1,
DOUGLAS M. SURGENOR 1, and
PHILIPPA BAUDANZA 1
1 Departments of Medicine and Biological Chemistry, Harvard Medical School,
The New England Deaconess Hospital, and the Blood Characterization and Preservation
Laboratory of Protein Foundation, Inc., Boston, Mass.
A method is described for the isolation and preservation of human blood
platelets. Their use in a platelet bank after storage of up to two years is
described. The practical advantages to the recipient include small administration volume, freedom from pyrogenicity and immediate availability in
the event of thrombocytopenic bleeding. The advantages of this technic to
the hospitals include a saving of time, a saving of blood and the elimination
of the frantic efforts of blood bank and laboratory personnel to produce large
numbers of fresh platelet concentrates at the time of platelet needs.
The remarkable stability of preserved platelets is believed largely due
to the method developed for their isolation from blood, wherein the cells
are separated from the coagulation proteins with which they normally interact, prior to enzymatic degradation. The importance of a controlled atmosphere of CO2 for retention of clot retraction is presented. The in vitro
and in vivo activities of the preserved cells are discussed. A hypothesis is
suggested for the autocatalytic stimulation of new platelet production through
temporary correction of a thromboplastic deficit by the transfusion of preserved platelets.
Submitted on April 21, 1958
Accepted on September 24, 1958
