Red cell concentrates of hemochromatosis patients comply with the storage guidelines for transfusion purposes.

Background: Therapeutic phlebotomy is the preferred treatment for iron overload associated with hemochromatosis. In the Netherlands, red blood cell concentrates (RCCs) from hemochromatosis patients are not used for transfusion purposes. In this study, their storage performance was compared with that of control donors as a first step in the evaluation of their potential usefulness for transfusion.
Study Design and Methods: RCCs were obtained from hemochromatosis patients and regular donors, either by apheresis or by whole-blood collection, and stored up to 50 days under routine Dutch blood bank conditions. Weekly samples were taken for determination of hematologic, biophysical, and biochemical variables.
Results: Most variables displayed the same storage-related changes in RCCs originating from hemochromatosis patients as in those from regular donors. In all RCCs, hemolysis remained well below the guideline limit of 0.8 percent for up to 6 weeks of storage, and the glucose concentration remained above the required 5 mmol per L up to 5 weeks of storage. After 4 weeks of storage, the mean ATP level remained above the required limit of 75 percent of the starting value in all RCCs as well. The major difference was a larger mean cell volume in hereditary hemochromatosis RBCs up to 50 days of storage.
Conclusions: RCCs from hemochromatosis patients comply with the in vitro quality requirements for transfusion. This paves the way for the final step, namely, the establishment of the 24-hour RBC posttransfusion recovery.