Investigating the viability of thawed fresh frozen plasma stored between 2°C to 6°C for 24 hours

Abstract

Whole Blood (WB) is primarily composed of erythrocytes, leucocytes, platelets and plasma. These constituents have their own morphological features and properties which are necessary for them to carry out their respective function. Fresh Frozen Plasma (FFP) is essentially plasma that has been immediately frozen upon donation and separation from the rest of the other blood constituents. Patients who have endured traumatic episodes such as major bleeding events, are mainly given plasma to be sustained with those factors which are deficient or being depleted. Prior to transfusion, FFP must first be thawed at 37°C in order to be able to be given to the patient. Currently the Maltese guidelines suggest that thawed FFP which is stored between 2°C to 6°C should be transfused within 6 hours after being thawed. This study focuses on determining whether FFP remains viable 24 hours post-thawing in refrigerated conditions by measuring some important factors and parameters such as Factor VIII and Prothrombin Time (PT) before and after the 24-hour period to be able to compare and examine the difference, if any. Results obtained from this study show that most of the coagulation factors which were under investigation can indeed be considered as being suitable for transfusion since their values remained within the normal range and above the minimum acceptable level. On the contrary, the same cannot be said for coagulation Factor VIII since its levels dropped significantly below the normal range and below the minimum acceptable level. The overall quality of thawed FFP stored in the aforementioned conditions is difficult to establish however, it is imperative to consider the patient’s situation before FFP administration could be done. Thawed FFP stored for an entire day in refrigerated conditions could be useful in certain scenarios since particular parameters, such as Factor V, were found to be suitable, safe and effective for treatment purposes.