Platelets come back in from the cold

摘要

In 1970, Murphy et al published a new method for preparation of platelet concentrates from whole blood donations and storage of these platelets at 22~digC under continuous agitation. Just a year before, they had reported that transfused platelets stored at 4~digC showed reduced survival. For many years, it was thought that this reduced survival was due to the shape change induced in platelets by low temperatures. However, inhibitors of the shape change induced by the cold did not preclude platelets from being cleared from the circulation, so other mechanisms had to be involved