One of our customers has indicated that they order autologous cryoprecipitate for use as "fibrin glue" because it works better than allogeneic. Has anyone else had this experience? Or is anyone aware of any studies that may have been published on the topic?

Hi Colleen,

I actually have some personal experience with this. My oral surgeon gave me instructions prior to jaw surgery. The M.D. wanted me to store autologous cryo a month before surgery and an apheresis for platelets one or two days prior to surgery. This was to help control bleeding. He was shocked I knew what he was talking about. It was a good plan...if I had veins....the donor center asked me not to come back!

You might be able to find information on an oral surgery or cosmetic facial surgery website. This is a very small town and I was amazed that a local doc was doing this 2 or 3 years ago.

Hi Colleen,

I do not think that there has been any study that establishes clearly that autologous cryo works better than allogeneic. However, I have heard similar, but not proven, comments about platelet gel. The use of an autologous product is mostly driven by the avoidance of virus risks from allogeneic sources. There has been a recent review paper (European Cells and Materials Vol 8, 2004, pp 1-11) discussing experimental studies of ceramics/fibrin glue composites and speculating that some failures in animal experiments may be due to the use of cryo from another species, while cryo from the same species works better.

Thierry Burnouf, PhD

HPPS

18 rue Saint-Jacques

59000 Lille

France