ABSTRACT
Platelet concentrates (PCs) obtained from whole blood are produced by fractionation of the buffy coat (BC) or the platelet-rich plasma. Despite the improvements in the technologies used for the hemocomponent fractionation, the proportion of PCs that do not accomplish the quality requirements is high. This study aimed to determine whether the basal platelet and leukocyte counts are predictive factors of the quality of the PCs obtained from BC by semiautomated fractionation. Quality control registers of 196 PCs were analyzed. Gender- and age-dependence of the blood cell count and the characteristics of PCs were evaluated. Platelet yield and residual leukocytes in the PCs were correlated with the platelet and leukocyte counts and the age of the donors. Predictive efficacy was assessed, and an optimal cut-off was established. The proportions of PCs accepted and rejected by using or not the optimal cut-off were compared. 50.0% of the PCs accomplished all the quality control requirements. Female donors had a higher basal platelet count than males. A correlation was observed between basal platelets and platelet yield, but not between basal leukocytes and residual leukocytes. The basal platelet count predicted the quality of the PCs. A cut-off of 231,000 platelets/mm3 was established, but it did not improve the proportion of accepted PCs. In conclusion, we found that the basal platelet count is correlated with the platelet yield. The basal leukocyte count is not correlated with the residual leukocytes. The established cut-off for the basal platelet count did not improve the proportion of accepted PCs.
