Handbook of Transfusion Medicine   –   4th edition

Table 3   Platelets

From whole blood donations: platelets from 4 or 5 donations constitute an adult therapeutic dose (ATD)
From apheresis: 1 donor collection provides 1 to 3 ATDs

From whole blood
(pool of 4 donations is 1 adult dose)

mean

sd

95% CI

range

Number of donors

4

 

 

 

Volume ml

310

± 33

317–321

250–400

Platelets x 109
(at least 240 x 109)

330

± 50

329–332

180–400

Plasma ml

250

 

 

 

Anticoagulant ml

60

 

 

 

White cells per unit

0.3 x 106 per pack

 

 

 

From apheresis

mean

sd

95% CI

range

Number of donors

1

 

 

 

Volume ml

215

± 53

206–207

180–300

Platelets x 109

290

± 45

289–291

180–400

Plasma ml

180

 

 

 

Anticoagulant ml

35

 

 

 

White cells per unit

0.3 x 106per pack

 

 

 

Storage

5 days at 22 ± 2°C on a special agitator rack (may be extended to 7 days if system is validated and in conjunction with bacterial testing)

Compatibility requirement

Preferably ABO and RhD identical with patient

Dosing guide

For a 70 kg adult, 1 adult dose typically gives an immediate rise in platelet count of 20–40 x 109 ml

Administration

Infuse through a standard blood administration set or a platelet infusion set – use a fresh set when administering each infusion of platelets

Cautions

RhD negative females with potential for childbearing must be given RhD negative platelets to avoid risk of Rh sensitisation

Plasma in the platelets can cause an ABO incompatibility reaction, TRALI or allergic reaction

 

Source: NBS and SNBTS routine QA data

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