Does agitation affect thawed cryoprecipitate?

A Transfusion Services Manager in Ohio wonders if it is possible to store thawed CRYO on a platelet agitator. Her facility wants to store thawed CRYO in a temperature controlled environment (room temperature: 20-24 C). They have a platelet incubator with an agitator, but the agitator is “on” for storing platelet stock most of the time. There is no space in the incubator to store CRYO without agitation. Is it possible that the rocking motion of the agitator could reduce the effectiveness of the CRYO?

The following comments have been submitted in response.

ADDENDA Dec. 13, 2011

1. Hany Kamel, MD, Corporate Medical Director at Blood Systems (attribution used with permission), points out that all standard references (AABB Standards 5.1.8A, 21CFR, Circular of Information, and AABB Technical Manual) require CRYO be stored at 20-24C for 4-6 hours (open or closed system) after thawing. There are no recommendations or prohibition against agitation during storage. CRYO contains Factor VIII, fibrinogen, vWF ristocetin cofactor, Factory XIII and fibronectin. During post-thaw storage, the mean rates of decline of Factor VIII levels are 10%, 20% and 30% at 2, 4 and 6 hours respectively.
   
   It is unlikely that agitation for a short period of time (up to six hours) would adversely affect the potency of the “therapeutic” ingredients of CRYO (personal opinion, no data). Dr Kamel recommends that the Transfusion Services Manager perform a validation following the institution’s protocol (e.g., measurement of Factor VIII and/or fibrinogen levels at the beginning and end of storage) to document the safety of the new storage environment.

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