[SDPs for infant use]

I have read that neo platelets put in syringes are viable for 6 hours but have not found any source for assigning exp time for neo platelets sterile-docked into aliquot bags designed for rbc. I do remember some facilities I have worked assigned a 4 hour outdate with the reason being the type of plastic. Does anyone else have additional information?

We also use SDP for infant platelet transfusions. Our blood center has the sterile docker and charges a nominal extra charge for putting the bags on. One concern we have wrestled with is that the aliquot bags are not the right plastic for platelets. How long can platelets stay in this bag before they must be discarded? We try not to aliquot until the very last minute to avoid concerns with the adequacy of the storage bags. Has anyone else considered this or heard anything about how long platelets can be stored in these bags?

[DAT testing]

If you only test with Poly and IgG, what happens when the Poly is pos and the IgG is pos? Do you assume it's only IgG? Why couldn't it be both IgG and C3? If you are worried about the cost of reagents, maybe try making your own complement-coated control cells using sucrose. We find that works fine and its cheap.

[How long can a T&S result last?]

I was looking into this issue a while back. I think it depends on whether you are doing computer crossmatching or not. If you are doing computer crossmatch, I haven't read anywhere how long (or short) a type and screen is valid if the patient has no recent history of pregnancy or transfusion. However, if you are still doing an immediate spin crossmatch, I would defer to others (Judd for one I believe???) who believe the best guideline for the stability of plasma in the reverse group (which equals the immediate spin) should be equal to what the manufacturer of your reverse cells recommends. In our case, that was 21 days. Sorry..I'm not at work so cannot confirm the reference at this moment. Some separate and freeze plasma for these "preop" patients although many frown upon separating cells and serum in blood banks (adds an additional level of risk of sample mixups)