Cold-stored platelets
Platelets, or blood cells, are essential for maintaining normal hemostasis and stopping bleeding. They are transfused to prevent bleeding in cases of thrombocytopenia, thrombocytopathy, or massive blood loss.
Platelet concentrates are made from whole blood or apheresis and stored at +20° to +24°C in constant motion for up to 7 days. These concentrates are most useful in conditions where prolonged donor platelet circulation in the blood (7–9 days) is important for bleeding prevention.
Since the demand for platelet transfusions varies significantly and the shelf life of doses is short, it is not practical to keep platelet concentrates in constant supply at every hospital. This would lead to many doses being wasted and a shortage of platelet donors.
To address logistical availability issues in critical situations, the U.S. has introduced cold-stored platelets (+1° to +6°C) with a shelf life of at least 14 days, though they have a shorter circulation time in the blood (1-2 days).
Cold-stored platelets, despite changes in morphology and metabolic properties, may have even better hemostatic function than those stored at warmer temperatures. Therefore, their use would resolve many issues related to emergency platelet transfusions.
Estonia plans to implement the use of whole blood, in which platelets are stored at +2° to +6°C for 21 days, especially in cases of acute blood loss.