I am curious about how different facilities transfuse platelets. I have a pathologist saying platelets should never be given through an IV infusion pump; they should only be given by gravity. This makes some sense as who knows how much shear force it takes to activate platelets. I searched for a thread with this topic and couldn't find one. What are your practices?

Check the manufacturer's protocol . . . your question prompted me to check ours - the pump is only for whole blood or red cell components. Our Nurse Educator is updating policy to reflect this. Thanks!

I just checked our new pumps and they say they are for blood and blood products. I am checking with their technical department though. Thank you David.

Our manufacturer said they are approved for all blood products by the FDA...

Our manufacturer also says that their pump is FDA approved for all blood products, but we teach our nurses that it is "preferable" to transfuse platelets without a pump for the reason that you described.

Our pumps say that they are approved for all blood products, but I still will not allow the nurses on the floor to use the pumps for platelets only red cells and ffp. All platelets are given gravity.