UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE, California, United States
Background/Case Studies: Platelet demand at University of California, Irvine (UCI) Medical Center is rising; with a 35% increase from calendar year (CY) 2022 and CY 2024. To improve supply, our blood donor center and component processing laboratory collaborated to implement triple apheresis platelet collections.
Study
Design/Methods: Donor collections were carried out using the Amicus Separator (Fresenius Kabi, Lake Zurich, IL) using platelet additive solution. Biometric data and donor platelet count are entered into the instrument, which provides a predicted collection yield. Donors with predicted yields of > 9.9 x 10e11 underwent collection of a product intended for manufacture into three apheresis platelet products (e.g., a ‘triple’). Dose volume mitigation is undertaken to ensure adequate storage media for subsequent manufacture into pathogen reduced products. Data from nine-month periods before and after implementation of triples were examined for total platelet products per month, split rates, and collections.
Results/Findings: Comparing before and after periods, there was an increase in platelet products per month (from 187 to 218, p=0.015) and split rates (1.75 to 1.97, p< 0.001) while between period mean collections per month remained stable (107 vs 110, p=0.563). Conclusions: The implementation of triples resulted in statistically significant increases in platelet products per month and split rates without an increase in donation-related costs (e.g., donor incentives, testing, and disposables).
