Journal of Blood Medicine (Sep 2022)
Comparison of Washing Efficiency and Recovery of Blood Cells Between Centrifugation, Coarse Filtration and Microfiltration Techniques to Prepare Autologous Blood for Transfusion
Abstract
James Amenge,1 Sabine Scherphof,2 Dion Osemwengie,3 Arno Nierich,3,4 Johan W Lagerberg5 1Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya; 2ECCare, Zwolle, the Netherlands; 3Clinical Department, HemoClear BV, Zwolle, the Netherlands; 4Department of Anaesthesiology & Intensive Care, Isala Clinics, Zwolle, the Netherlands; 5Department of Product and Process Development, Sanquin Blood Bank, Amsterdam, the NetherlandsCorrespondence: Arno Nierich, Clinical Department, HemoClear BV, Dokter Stolteweg 70, Zwolle, 8025 AZ, the Netherlands, Tel +31 0 38 303 26 30, Email [email protected]: Cell salvage is the process by which blood lost in surgery is collected and washed or filtered to produce autologous blood for re-transfusion to the patient. Cell salvage aims to reduce the need for donor blood. Centrifugal cell salvage washing technique is a preferred medical treatment in order to retain lost red blood cells (RBCs) without contaminants. Although this technology very efficiently collects and washes shed blood, it is costly and often impractical or unavailable, especially in middle- or low-income countries. This study assessed two innovative filter devices as an alternative to centrifugal cell salvage technology: a coarse collection filter device (Hemafuse) and a microfiltration device (HemoClear). In contrast to centrifugal technology, both filter devices do not require electricity, nor costly equipment and extensive training. We compared the effectiveness of these filtration technologies to remove plasma constituents and recover and concentrate the cellular components with centrifugal technology (autoLog® device).Methods: Whole blood was processed with each technology according to the device manufacturer’s instructions. Before and after processing, the blood products were analyzed for supernatant solutes and cellular composition.Results: The centrifugal technology confirmed its efficacy to remove potentially harmful solutes and capture red blood cells. The microfiltration technology (HemoClear) reached comparable levels of removal of solutes, with a potential advantage over centrifugal technology in the ability to also recover platelets. The coarse filtration technology (Hemafuse) had no washing capacity but, like the microfiltration technology, has the advantage of recovering platelets.Conclusion: Innovative filtration devices represent an alternative to centrifugal technology in the preparation of autologous blood for reinfusion. The HemoClear technology for the first time enables the recovery of washed platelets and red blood cells. Clinical trials will have to be performed to investigate the clinical value of this new autologous blood product.Keywords: cell salvage, blood salvage, cell salvage technology, cell saver, blood filter
