Red Blood Cell Preservation In Transfusion | Essay

Running head: RED BLOOD CELL PRESERVATION IN TRANSFUSION
Red Blood Cell Preservation In Transfusion
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RED BLOOD CELL PRESERVATION IN TRANSFUSION
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Packed red blood cells are used in blood transfusion. The packed or preserved red
cells are used in the treatment of anemia or when the hemoglobin content of the body falls
below 70-80g/L. The whole blood is collected and twirled in a centrifuge. The red cells are
denser in size and settle down at the bottom of the bag where the blood is stored while the
blood plasma is found to be at the top of the bag (Muller et al., 2015). The red cells are
generally preserved with the help of an additive such as citrate, adenine, and dextrose to keep
the reds live and use for transfusion purposes. The process is usually performed by automated
apheresis, which comprises both mixing and centrifugation at the same time (Matthes et al.,
2014). The blood banks use this technique to reduce the volume of the blood and to use in
various purpose. The primary purpose of the below paper to provide a brief idea about red
blood cell biology and its preservation methods that are used in a transfusion.
Red blood cells are oxygen and carbon dioxide carrying cells in the body throughout
the blood. This comprises of hemoglobin which is a pigment of blood responsible for
providing the red color of RBC. It is also known as erythrocytes or red corpuscles. The usual
range of RBC in the body is 4.2-5.9 cells/cm. It is responsible for taking up oxygen from the
lungs and release it into the tissues. The cytoplasm of the erythrocytes is generally abundant
in iron-containing biomolecules called hemoglobin. The cell membrane consists of lipid and
protein, which is essential for maintaining stability and maintaining the capillary network.
The mature red cells are oral biconcave in shape, which lacks a true nucleus for
accommodating more amount of hemoglobin. The cells are formed in the bone marrow and
are circulated throughout the body before it is recovered by macrophages (Barbalato &
Pillarisetty, 2019). The transfusion is a process where blood from a donor is transferred into
the receipt body after the proper screening to reduce the chance of blood-borne disease. The
blood group is tested previously before transfusion to reduce the chance of acute hemolytic
transfusion or reaction (Harewood & Master, 2019).

RED BLOOD CELL PRESERVATION IN TRANSFUSION
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In the earlier days, blood is preserved with the help of disodium
ethylenediaminetetraacetate. It is regarded as a potent anticoagulant for blood which
conserves the cellular elements and is excreted by the body and also in toxic (Cieplinski et
al., 2019). It was used for the preservation of blood for three weeks to four weeks. The
preservation is also combined with the agents such as raffinose and glucose, which in turn
proliferations the persistence time of the erythrocytes from four weeks to six weeks. It is a
complete atoxic method of preservation. The ethyl alcohol saline sugar solution also helps in
preserving the red blood cells for about 150days. It is notable for preserving the agglutinogen
for a more extended period of time. The whole blood is usually preserved with the help of
glycerine-raffinose glucose and is usually kept at a temperature of -20 degrees centigrade.
This process can preserve blood upto two months or more without even hemolysis of blood.
Another method that was used in blood preservation is multiple plastic bag system which
consists of additives solution. It gave a positive result where the lifespan of the red cells
increased up to 42 to 49 days, and it also decreased the number of contaminants in the blood,
such as leukocytes, thrombocytes, platelets. ACD- A anticoagulant Citrate Dextrose is a non-
pyrogenic sterile solution used in the preservation of blood (Gyorgy et al., 2014). It is used in
the production of platelet-rich plasma in the process of extracorporeal blood dispensation
with the Autologous PRP system. It preserves the blood for about 21 days, and the survival
rate in vivo was 70 percent. The chronology of anticoagulants is citrate dextrose, acid
dextrose, phosphate dextrose, added nucleotide, CPDA1, Additive solution, SAG, and CP2D.
Cryopreservation is one of the vital techniques in preserving the cells, which also maintains
the structure and function of the cells. The cryoprotectants that are used to preserve are
glycerol, DMSO (Li et al., 2020).
The blood cells are collected in hematology laboratory or blood banks with the help of
venepuncture and vacutainers. The venepuncture method has some guidelines which help in