Products / Services

Product Profile : Platelets

Platelet transfusions are required in a number of conditions to control bleeding episodes. The decision to transfuse should be based on a combination of clinical and laboratory findings rather than on empirical platelet levels. Response to platelet transfusions should be judged on clinical improvement, normalisation of bleeding time, and relative increase in circulating platelet count. Significant increases may not occur in the actively bleeding patient due to rapid utilisation.

Indications for Platelet Transfusions

  • Bleeding due to thrombocytopenia, which is the result of defective platelet production (aplastic anaemia or leukaemia).
  • Defective function (congenital platelet disorders).
  • Increased consumption (disseminated intravascular coagulation).
  • Dilutional effect as in massive transfusion.

Thromboctytopenia and bleeding

PLATELET COUNT RISK OF BLEEDING
< 5 x 109/l Life threatening bleeding is a strong possibility
5-20 x 109/l Increased likelihood of spontaneous bleeding,
particularly intracranial haemorrhage
20-50 x 109 /l Increased likelihood of bleeding with trauma, surgical
procedures and specific lesions such as
gastric ulcers
> 50 x 109/l Bleeding rarely occurs, even in major surgery.
For surgery to the eye or brain a platelet level of 100 x 109/l
is recommended


Clinical evidence of Thrombocytopenia or Thrombopathy include:

  • Diffuse oozing from surgical incision.
  • Oozing from venepuncture sites.
  • Scattered petechiae.
  • Ecchymoses in areas not associated with trauma or incisions.
  • Mucocutaneous bleeding.
  • Retinal bleeding.

Platelet Products
Random donor platelets

  • These platelet concentrates are prepared from whole blood within 8 hours of collection. The concentrates may be stored for 5 days in special satellite bags that allow for gaseous exchange at 22 °C with continuous agitation. Each single donor unit contains approximately 60-80 x 109 platelets in 50 ml of citrated plasma.
  • To transfuse sufficient platelets for a therapeutic dose several of the individual units are pooled. In general, random donor platelets are recommended for acute disorders such as acute disseminated intravascular coagulation.

Apheresis single donor platelet concentrate

  • This is a unit of platelets from a single donor, prepared by using standardised protocols on a blood cell separator. Each unit contains at least 300 x 109 platelets in 300 ml of citrated plasma. Depending on the system used the product has a shelf life of 24 hours (open system) to 5 days (closed system). The product has fewer than 5 x 106 leucocytes in total, and is considered leucocyte depleted.
  • Apheresis products are particularly recommended in patients on long term platelet support (e.g. bone marrow transplant) to minimise exposure to alloantigens. The risk of exposure to latent donor infections is also reduced, and is therefore probably preferable to random donor platelets. However, they are more costly and time consuming to produce.

Improved method of pooling random donor platelet concentrates

Previously, Random Donor Platelets were stored individually at our Blood Banks and pooled manually into a single Transfer Pack on demand, using aseptic technique under laminar Flow. The resultant pooled product typically provided approximately 3x10 " platelets from 5-6 Random Donor Platelet concentrates in approximately 300 ml Plasma.

The improved product is obtained by pooling 5-6 units of Random Donor, Buffy Coat (BC) Platelet Concentrates immediately after preparation, using a sterile, multi-armed pooling bag and an electronic sterile tube welding device.

Preparation in an entirely closed, sterile system and the mechanism of the new pooling bag, enable us to provide a product that will typically contain 3 x10" platelets from 5 Random Donor BC Platelet Concentrates in approximately 250 ml plasma.

Benefits of the new, Pooled Platelet product include decreased risk of bacterial contamination, reduced exposure of patients to random donors and ready availability as the product is pre-pooled.

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