(P-BC-37) Implementation of Pooled Platelets

Our medium sized blood collection facility primarily relies on apheresis collection to sustain our platelet inventory. As the community demand for platelets increases, our pool of platelet donors has not. To meet customer demand for platelets, our center implemented whole blood derived or pooled platelets with a novel whole blood pooling kit. A pooled platelet is created when pooling 4-5 ABO matched random donor platelets (RDPs). Following pooling, the product is leukoreduced and samples pulled for bacterial detection (aerobic and anaerobic) at 48 hours similar to apheresis platelets. RDPs are produced from TRALI (transfusion related acute lung injury) mitigated donors who report no aspirin use. The pools have a shelf life of up to 7 days. Pooled platelets with a platelet yield of> 3 x 10 11 are used interchangeably with apheresis platelets.

Study

Design/Methods:

Platelet production data was pulled from our quality control software. Order and distribution data was pulled from our blood establishment computer system.

 

Results/Findings:

In October 2023, our center implemented pooled platelet production. Since implementation, our center has distributed more than 638 platelet pools to local hospitals. Most pools were manufactured from 5 RDPS (81%) vs 4 RDPs (19%). Table 1 shows order fill rate for platelet orders as well as expiration rates of platelets. Fill rate has increased from 94% to 99% whereas expiration rate has decreased from 4.82% to 3.59%.

Conclusions:

Implementation of pooled platelets has led to increased platelet inventory flexibility. This flexibility has allowed our center to optimize our fill rate for platelets but not affect the expiration rate, providing enhanced utilization of the products donated.