Background: The INTERCEPT Blood System uses amotosalen-HCl and UVA light to cross-link DNA and RNA, thereby inhibiting pathogen replication. Although previous studies have shown that this treatment alters in vitro platelet quality, most studies have assessed apheresis platelets or platelets pooled from 5 or 6 donors. In Australia, platelets are prepared using buffy-coats from 4 donors, with SSP+ and have lower plasma carryover than recommended by the manufacturer (32-47%). As such, it is currently unknown whether these platelet concentrates are suitable for INTERCEPT treatment.
Materials and methods: Platelet concentrates were prepared by pooling four buffy-coats with SSP+, resulting in 30% plasma carryover. Two platelet units were pooled and split to generate paired units, with one unit treated with the INTERCEPT System (n = 6), whilst the other remained untreated (n = 6). All units were stored for seven days at 22 °C with agitation.
Results: INTERCEPT treatment resulted in 10·4 ± 4·3% loss of platelets, but did not significantly affect the functional integrity of mitochondria. INTERCEPT-treated platelets demonstrated a decreased pH, accelerated lactate production and glucose consumption, as well as higher surface expression and increased secretion of P-selectin and reduced collagen-induced aggregation. These changes were particularly evident from day 5 of storage.
Conclusion: The observed increase in platelet glycolysis following INTERCEPT treatment is consistent with previous literature reports. Importantly, the in vitro changes were less marked than previously reported indicating that the platelets suspended in SSP+ with reduced plasma carryover are of suitable in vitro quality following INTERCEPT treatment and storage.
© 2013 The Authors. Transfusion Medicine © 2013 British Blood Transfusion Society.