Maximum collection time for whole blood intended for manufacture of labile components (platelets, FFP, cryoprecipitate)

A colleague in Rhode Island reports that at her blood center, manufacture of platelets, FFP and cryoprecipitate from a whole blood collection requires that the time from insertion of the needle to completion of the collection be no longer than 12 minutes. She is planning to change the limit to 15 minutes, as cited in the AABB Technical Manual. However, on investigating this issue she discovered that some blood centers currently use a maximum collection time of 20 minutes. She wonders if others would share their policy (time limit) and the scientific basis for deciding on this.

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The following comments have been received.

ADDENDA June 8, 2004

1. A colleague in Spain reports that the Guide to the Preparation, Use and Quality Assurance of Blood Components published by of the Council of Europe, 10th edition, 2004 states (Editors' note: several more current editions available):

   "The flow of the blood must be sufficient and uninterrupted. Donation of a whole blood unit should ideally not last more than 10 minutes. If duration of the bleeding is longer than 12 minutes, the blood should not be used for the preparation of platelets. If the duration of the bleeding is longer than 15 minutes, the plasma should not be used for direct transfusion or the preparation of coagulation factors".

The Spaniard comments that by his reading, the Guide does not give any objective evidence to support the stated time limits. In his experience, low collection flow rates allow the coagulation cascade to activate in the needle and tubing and often some clots can appear in the blood bag. Thus, with long collections, one cannot be sure of the quality of the plasma or of the platelets. He concludes saying that such events are rare and his staff can increase extraction speed by stripping the tubing. He would not recommend extending the time limit over 15 minutes.

2. A transfusion medicine physician who practices in a small town in Central North Carolina reports that in his opinion there are really two related issues, the first involving donor comfort. In his experience, when a venous tourniquet is applied to an extremity, in a conscious individual the appendage becomes painful after about 20 minutes. Therefore, many blood centers choose to set an u